Drugs group sent crystal meth to Australia labelled 'two glass Buddhas'

Two men from Kent and a woman from Croydon have been jailed for sending £4.3 million of crystal meth to Australia.

Kevin Filkins from Sevenoaks, Robert Hamilton from Orpington and Yvonne Stewart from Croydon trafficked the drugs.

Authorities in Australia seized 24 kilograms of crystal meth and later established it had come from the UK.

The items, address to New South Wales, Australia had been labelled as ‘two glass Buddhas’ with footage capturing Filkins sending a shipment.

Stewart worked in the cargo sector with phone records linking a trail of delivery between her and the other two defendants.

Richard Smith, from the Organised Crime Partnership said, "This organised crime group sought to make huge profits by trafficking dangerous drugs to Australia.

"They used Stewart’s inside knowledge of the cargo industry to try to ensure their shipments made it overseas.

"We worked closely with the Australian Federal Police to dismantle this criminal supply chain and protect the public in both countries from the impact of the illegal drugs trade."

Filkins, Stewart and Hamilton were sentenced respectively to 12 years, 12 years and 13 years and six months.

Detective Superintendent Callum Hughes, AFP Senior Officer in London, said, "This outcome should serve as a warning to those who seek to undertake this type of criminal activity; the risk of lengthy imprisonment far outweighs the short term benefits of your actions.

"The AFP through its officers based in London has an excellent relationships with UK law enforcement agencies such as the NCA and the chances of any group or individual being identified and prosecuted for this type of criminal behaviour has never been higher."

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