Seven men involved in a plot to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of £100 million through Sheerness docks hidden in a cargo of bananas have been jailed for a total of more than 74 years.

The gang, which included port security guard Sam Elphick as the “inside man”, was arrested after an armed raid by 100 officers from the National Crime Agency and Kent Police in the early hours of December 20, 2021.

The illicit consignment of 1,210 packages weighing almost 1.2 tonnes had arrived on board a ship from Costa Rica and was in the process of being unloaded from the container by forklift truck and into two waiting vans when the law enforcement authorities swooped in just before 2.30am.

Those involved in the enterprise had been oblivious to a two-month surveillance operation which had observed a series of meetings at pubs, cafes and service stations, held to organise the importation of the cocaine from the South American country and across the Atlantic to its point of recovery on Sheppey.

Maidstone Crown Court heard there were just three guards on duty that night when Elphick, of Melody Close, Warden, was caught on camera letting the drug smugglers into the port.

The now 30-year-old was said to have been corrupted by an unnamed conspirator higher up the chain, while the man acting as his subsequent "point of contact" was later found to have a "dossier of personal information" about the security officer on his phone.

Just two minutes before the police raid the married father had also been seen in the gatehouse office using a blood pressure monitor, and after his arrest he claimed to have become involved under duress.

However, Elphick later pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group (OCG) while his co-defendants Joel McCaughey, 34, from Castlefield, Manchester, Darren Laurie, 53, formerly of Harlow, Essex, but now of no fixed address, and Kyle Davidson, 33, Ian Woodward, 36, Danny Laird, 41, and 57-year-old Michael Turner - all from Ware or Buntingford in Hertfordshire - admitted conspiracy to import the class A drug between November 5 and December 21, 2021.

At a two-day sentencing hearing that concluded today (Friday, November 29), Judge Catherine Moore said the men were "driven by their own selfish greed" to become involved in smuggling a quantity of cocaine "if not unprecedented, certainly at the highest level".

Prosecutor Paul Douglas said McCaughey and ex-serviceman Laird played a leading role, while Laurie was responsible for training Woodward, Davidson and Turner - the hired "labour" - to use the forklift truck to manoeuvre pallets.

It was accepted by the prosecution however that Elphick did not know that drugs were being smuggled into the docks.

As well as surveillance of the OCG members in various locations including outside Elphick's home, McDonald's in Sheerness, the Klondyke Cafe in Minster and a BP fuel station in Queenborough, the gang members were linked to the enterprise through phone conversations.

One revealed in the build-up to the cocaine's arrival that Laird had been late for a meeting with Laurie in a pub in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, on December 7 as he had got "stuck behind Santa" - a reference to a charity Christmas street collection being held that night.

McCaughey was the one who had flown to Costa Rica on November 28 to oversee the loading of the cocaine, which had an estimated wholesale value of £48m, among the boxes of bananas.

Not only did he allude to the fact in a text that he was expecting to be paid just short of £400,000 for his role, but he was also referred to as being “IC” - in charge - while communicating with another conspirator higher up the chain known as "Dubai Don" but who has never been arrested.

Mr Douglas told the court the fact the men were involved in a "most serious and commercial large-scale" operation would have been obvious to them.

"The Crown's case is that this was a carefully planned conspiracy involving the infiltration of Sheerness Port," he said.

"Sam Elphick was the inside man. Laird appeared to have a dossier of Mr Elphick on his phone of personal information.

"Such was the size of the importation that a forklift truck was obtained to move the drugs from a shipping container to two vans, and Laurie was responsible for training other conspirators in how to use the forklift.

"Between October 16 and December 20, 2021, the activity includes numerous phone communications, meetings on Sheppey, training in use of the forklift and entering the port for the purpose of familiarisation."

One such reconnaissance visit involved Laurie, wearing a DHL branded top while driving a van, spending 30 minutes at the port "to familiarise himself and to become a familiar presence there himself," explained the prosecutor.

The forklift truck was purchased for £5,000 cash as early as November 1, and the gang also bought boxes of bananas from London's New Spitalfields Market so they could fill the void created by the removal of those in which the cocaine was stashed.

On the night of the planned cocaine recovery, the court was told that the port was particularly vulnerable due to the limited number of security guards on duty.

Laird was in fact on bail at the time for an unrelated offence and subject to a night-time electronically-tagged curfew so was assisting with the unloading operation from his home over the phone.

It was at 1.02am that Elphick, working a 12-hour shift, texted Laird saying "Come now" and a couple of minutes later he granted access to the two Peugeot vans using his security pass.

From his office, he then monitored the gang's movements on the CCTV cameras while also distracting his colleagues.

However, it was said to take some time for the men to locate the actual container, which had arrived and been offloaded from a ship two days earlier.

It was then realised that bolt croppers were needed and that the container was also too high for the forklift to unload the boxes.

In the time that it took to find the container, for the equipment to be dropped off by an unidentified driver of a third van, and for the removal of the cocaine to get under way, Elphick and Laird were in regular contact.

At one stage when the guard appeared to begin to lose his nerve, asking "How much longer?" and pointing out "We haven't got time", the court heard he was reassured he was "doing good" and offered an extra £5,000 for his role.

Mr Douglas said it was around 80 minutes after the gang had been allowed into the port by Elphick that the NCA and police moved in.

Elphick was detained in the gatehouse, McCaughey, Laurie, Turner, Davidson and Woodward were arrested at the container, and Laird was subsequently apprehended at his home in Buntingford.

The court heard that Elphick had already been "turned" by the time of his first contact with Laird in November 2021.

While under surveillance, Laird had been seen arriving at the guard's home. Having spoken to a woman at the address, there was then a call between the men before they met up less than 20 minutes later at the BP station in Queenborough.

All the defendants, bar Elphick who had been on bail since December 2022 and was physically in court to learn his fate, appeared via video link with Elmley Prison on Sheppey and London's high security Belmarsh Prison.

McCaughey, Woodward and Davidson were the first to plead guilty as long ago as January 2022.

Kerry Moore, defending the security officer, said duress was not maintained as, although the “Elphick" dossier found on Laird's phone contained family photos and address details, any intimidation of him did not go beyond that.

It was also accepted that he was to be paid for his involvement.

"He deeply regrets his actions and he is ashamed, not only ashamed because he let down his employers by his actions but also because of the effect it had on his family," added Mr Moore.

Oliver Blunt KC, defending McCaughey, said the former construction worker and business owner "became beholden to others" in 2021 after falling into debt.

He became the "eyes and ears" of Dubai Don, acted under direction from him, and at the port "got his hands dirty, unlike his supervisor who avoided any risk of apprehension by not being there," the barrister added.

Mr Blunt also argued that McCaughey, who has no previous convictions and wrote two letters to the court expressing his remorse, was to be paid £100,000 and not the amount claimed by the prosecution.

Barry Gilbert, defending father-of-three Laird, said he was no more than a "foreman" in the December plot, had no direct contact with those at the top of the hierarchy or involvement in buying and selling drugs, and although he expected to be paid, no money was actually received.

"He was organising the men to unload it and take it away," he added. "He was being told what to do by someone else. He was very much a worker along with everybody else."

Michael Turner, said his lawyer Danny Moore, had been "caught red-handed" after his long-standing addiction to alcohol and drugs led to his involvement.

But the court was told the dad-of-one was "right at the bottom" of the conspiracy, acting under direction, with a specific role of driving the forklift truck and unloading the cocaine for "very little" financial gain.

"Stupidly he got involved way over his head in this criminal enterprise but he didn't receive any spoils and took all the risk," added Mr Moore.

Grandfather-of-nine Laurie was said by Ben Irwin, defending, to have been in a "very deep hole" personally, mentally and financially when he took on his "unsophisticated operational role".

But Mr Irwin added that the suggestion Laurie taught others in using the forklift truck was a "pretty grand" one as he was neither qualified nor trained to do so.

Father-of-five Davidson, whose youngest was born shortly before his arrest, was another performing a "limited" role, said his lawyer Sarah O'Kane, "sticking to orders" of driving the forklift.

Woodward, it was said, did have a history of driving forklifts but was the last of the gang to be recruited in early December.

Peter Guest, defending, told the court he had repeatedly expressed his remorse for accepting the offer to earn money in that manner.

But he added that while in custody Woodward had "worked extremely hard" and now teaches other inmates in English and mathematics.

Jail terms were as follows:

Sam Elphick - two years;

Joel McCaughey - 13 years and four months;

Danny Laird - 14 years and eight months;

Darren Laurie - 12 years and four months;

Kyle Davidson - 10 years;

Michael Turner - 11 years;

Ian Woodward - 11 years and three months.

Despite being jailed for two years, Elphick is likely to be released from custody almost immediately due to having already served 360 days on remand following his arrest.

“The misery brought about by drugs on society is untold. Each of you was driven by your own selfish greed and financial rewards attached to that…”

The court heard that at least two previous sentencing hearings had been adjourned in the intervening three years, a delay that Judge Moore took into account when deciding the appropriate punishments and accepted was not the fault of the defendants.

But she told the seven-strong gang - five of whom have more than 50 previous convictions between them - that they became embroiled in what was "undoubtedly a highly sophisticated, commercial enterprise" importing cocaine by the tonne.

"Each of you involved in this case was motivated by money. The financial rewards were plainly very significant," said Judge Moore.

"The misery brought about by drugs on society is untold. Each of you was driven by your own selfish greed and financial rewards attached to that.

"The impact of those drugs is significant. It has a devastating effect on society and individuals. It fuels addiction, crime and dishonesty. You played a part in perpetuating those issues."

“You took steps to protect the OCG that evening by deterring colleagues from properly following their orders…”

Elphick, she said, was trusted by his co-defendants when it was his job to "protect the port and the integrity of its security systems".

"This was not a single, one-off, foolish decision by you," Judge Moore told the dad-of-two.

"Over a period of time you allowed members of the OCG access to the port so they could familiarise themselves.

"You did so knowing you would receive financial reward for your efforts.

"You took steps to protect the OCG that evening by deterring colleagues from properly following their orders."

She concluded that although he did not know about the drugs, "it was quite plain that whatever the commodity was, it had a significant value."

It was accepted however that the enterprise went beyond the seven being sentenced, with others apprehended and dealt with separately by other courts or yet to be arrested.

Confiscation proceedings will be held for McCaughey at a later date.

Commenting after the sentencing, NCA operations manager Paul Orchard said: “The NCA has stopped a significant amount of drugs from reaching the streets of the UK, and completely dismantled this organised crime group who were using a corrupt port worker to circumvent border controls.

“Sam Elphick was recruited specifically for his knowledge of Sheerness Port and the security systems.

“This kind of knowledge and access are like gold dust to organised crime, and it is why stopping corrupt insiders and the threat they pose are a priority for us.”

Dave Smith, Border Force south east regional director, said: “Thanks to the remarkable work by NCA, Kent Police and Border Force, we stopped over £90 million worth of cocaine flooding into our communities.

“We are working endlessly to prevent drug smuggling, and this seizure, and others like it, sends a clear message to criminal gangs that we remain committed tackling these despicable drug supply chains.”