MEMBERS of a drugs network which schemed to smuggle £6m of “high quality” canna-bis have been jailed.

John Tibbs, of Chelsfield, and David Spencer, of Green Street Green, admitted their part in the international plot which was brought down by officers from the National Crime Squad (NCS).

Helped by colleagues in Holland and Belgium, NCS detectives seized nearly 3,000kg of cannabis, which was part of a major importation network into the UK from Jamaica.

Tibbs, aged 54, of Rock Hill, and Spencer, aged 46, of Winnipeg Drive, were jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years between them at Bristol Crown Court.

A third man, Stephen Kendall, aged 49, of Bristol, was jailed for two years.

The majority of the drugs were found in huge containers on cargo ships to Rotterdam, in Holland. They were hidden in crates of black pepper, pimentos and T-shirts.

Raids in Kent, Hampshire, Bristol and Coventry were timed to coincide with operations in Europe and Jamaica. More than 100 officers were involved.

Detective Inspector Robbie Pollard, of the NCS, said: “This was a highly-sophisticated network importing large quantities of drugs and linked to serious and dangerous criminal elements from the Caribbean to Europe.

“The disruption of such a professional and established criminal organisation is a major achievement and is down to the hard work and dedication of the officers involved.

“A major drug supply route from the Caribbean to the UK was dismantled and we are very satisfied with the result.” Two men and a woman in Belgium have also been charged in connection with the haul and three people in Jamaica are also under investigation.

Since being formed in 1998, the NCS has seized drugs worth more than £866m and brought down 1,300 criminal networks.