Two men have been charged after drugs were found hidden in a parcel containing children’s toys.

The discoveries, which were made in Greenhithe, Gravesend and Medway, come as part of an investigation into the alleged importation of cannabis from the United States.

Kent Police were notified by Border Force officials last year that vacuum-sealed packages of the class B drug had been found hidden in parcels containing children’s toys and clothing, having been posted to addresses in Medway and north Kent from California.

Last Thursday evening officers attended a property in Greenhithe as part of their enquiries and arrested a man suspected to be involved in the operation, also seizing two blocks of what appeared to be cannabis resin.

Later that night they arrested a second man after an earlier search of a shipping container in the Gravesend area resulted in the discovery of a number of other packages of cannabis as well as a block of cocaine.

Further related searches led officers to the seizure of £20,000 cash and a knuckleduster.

Samuel Dunn, 29, of Belmont Road, Whitstable, and Keenan Hall-Shelton, 31, of Ash Road, Sevenoaks, have both since been charged with drug offences including conspiracy to import cannabis and the supply of cocaine.

Mr Hall-Shelton has also been charged with possession of criminal property and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Both men were remanded in custody when they appeared before Medway magistrates on Saturday and will next appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday May 19.