THE kingpin of a multi-million pound skunk cannabis ring which was said to be the Tesco of the drug dealing world has been jailed.

Anthony Mills, originally from Beckenham, was sentenced to 17 and a half years at Southwark Crown Court last Wednesday (August 10).

The 43-year-old had pointed the finger at another gang member who is already serving a 16 year prison sentence for his role in the network.

But prosecutor Timothy Cray said: "If the man pushing cannabis on the street, the small-time dealer, is equivalent to the market trader selling his fruit and veg outside London Bridge station, then this group were the big players, the Tesco.

“Anthony Mills was the director of this Tesco."

Detectives caught the gang smuggling cannabis from Holland hidden in flower boxes and their earnings were estimated to be around £1m a week.

The rest of the gang, from south west London, were jailed in March 2010.