A SIDCUP man has been jailed for his part in smuggling drugs worth nearly £1m into the UK.

Terrence Southgate, aged 51, of Birchwood Avenue, was described at Southwark Crown Court as "the leg man" of the operation to smuggle 2,562kg of herbal cannabis and 34.7kg of cannabis resin into Britain disguised as machine parts.

Southgate, Paul Dewdeney, aged 43, of Lenham near Maidstone and Michael Malone, aged 52, of Larkfield near Maidstone, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cannabis and cannabis resin between June 1 and October 10 last year.

The court was told a network of bogus companies, backed up by fake paperwork, was created to conceal the consignments.

The prosecution alleged "mysterious drug barons" were behind the multi-million pound enterprise and they had already successfully smuggled two other drug loads in July and August last year, which were ferried from London to the car park area of the Lakeside retail park, in Thurrock, Essex.

But on the third attempt, Customs staff had staked out the Docklands warehouse. Malone was intercepted as he drove a hired van from the MSAS warehouse in east London on October 10 last year. Wooden crates containing locked steel boxes were in the van.

"The paperwork suggested they were machinery parts being sent to Russell Cooper Marine," said prosecutor Paul Valder. But in fact they contained the drugs.

Two "front" companies, a Rotterdam exporter and Russell Cooper were used, but a legitimate shipper actually imported the crates.

Dewdeney was recruited to create the fake paperwork which included shipping documents in the name of the Dutch supplier and Russell Cooper as well as company logos and bogus faxes to MSAS.

Southgate printed delivery notes and arranged the London address of the "front" company.

Jailing Dewdeney for four-and-a-half years and Malone and Southgate for three-and-a-half years, Judge Mota Singh QC said: "There is no doubt other people were involved, who may have been higher in the chain of command. But your roles were crucial to the operation."