Two members of a cannabis gang who set up lucrative deals in Wimbledon coffee shops have been jailed for a total of five-and-a half years after customs officers seized £90,000 of the drug.

Fireman and former prison officer Kevin Ritchie, 33, and grandfather Philip Hart, 51, used popular coffee shops Starbucks and Coffee Republic on Wimbledon Bridge to arrange their deals, Southwark Crown Court heard on Friday.

Customs officers trailed the pair in February and March last year and discovered they were using the car park at Merton Abbey Mills to trade drugs, together with co-defendant Stuart Tobias-Browne, 21. Officers swooped on the car park and seized nearly 30kgs of the drug wrapped in plastic bags. They arrested Hart after following him to Starbucks. His fingerprints were found on the plastic wrapping of the haul found in Tobias-Browne's car.

Ritchie and Tobias-Browne were arrested later after they were followed by officers.

Hart, of Redbridge Lane, Wanstead, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cannabis when he appeared in court on September 27, 2002. He was jailed for three years.

Both Ritchie and Tobias-Browne denied the charge and were found guilty on March 18. Ritchie, of Jebb Avenue, Brixton, was jailed for two-and-a-half years and ordered to pay back £4,490.

Tobias-Browne, of Ashfield Road, Southgate, will be sentenced on May 16.

Sentencing Ritchie and Hart, Judge Christopher Hardy said: "The courts have to punish people for being involved in this sort of enterprise and make a deterrent for others."

Another accused gang member 53-year-old Patrick McMahon, of Grand Drive, Raynes Park was arrested with Hart and stood trial on the same charge. He was discharged from proceedings for health reasons and may face further action.

May 1, 2003 10:00