A Walthamstow man has been jailed for six years and nine months for helping to supply large quantities of chemicals used to bulk up Class A drugs.

Gursu Akgun, 29, of Lawrence Avenue, pleaded guilty along with accomplices Antony Savva, 29, and Vangelis Savva, 26, who are brothers.

Three-and-a-half tonnes of powders, including including Benzocaine, Lidocaine, Phenacetin, caffeine and ground paracetamol, were found at the homes of the men and at unidentified storage units in Enfield and Walthamstow.

It is estimated that the chemicals, when mixed with class A drugs, could have reached a street value of £246million.

The men pleaded guilty in January to selling cutting agents in the belief it would encourage or assist an offence.

Antony Savva, of Southfield Road in Ponders End, was sentenced to nine years in prison, while Vangelis Savva, of Cobham Close in Bush Hill Park, was ordered to serve six years and nine months during a hearing at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday.

A major investigation, named Operation Pillow, was carried out by the Eastern Region Serious and Organised Crime Unit (ERSOU).

ERSOU detective superintendent Mark Lay said: “This was a highly organised and professional criminal operation on an industrial scale.

"The vast quantity of cutting agents seized would have had the potential to be mixed with hundreds of kilos of class A drugs.”

The powers were imported in bulk from China, which is not in itself illegal.

However if it is suspected that the chemicals are being used in criminal activity then those involved can be prosecuted under recently introduced legislation.

Detective Constable Chris Ratcliffe of ERSOU said: “During a covert operation, we found that these men were selling the substances to people, without asking for details, why they wanted it or what it was being used for.

“The new legislation enabled us to stop these people from propping up the drugs trade and making a lot of money out of the misery of others.

“I hope this outcome acts as a warning to others who are involved in similar practices that we will thoroughly investigate this type of crime, using all powers available to us to prosecute.”