Four men who buried drugs in glass jars in the north Essex countryside made more than £1 million from drug dealing, a court has heard.

Police officers found 2.5kg of drugs with an estimated street value of up to £180,000 between September and December 2019 in two rural locations in Colchester, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The drugs were stored there until they were retrieved by the men who would then process them and sell them from a house in Trinity Street, Halstead.

Earlier this year Jake Gregory, of no fixed address, James Martin, of Trinity Street, Halstead, William Locke, of Devon Road, Colchester and Jake Holliday also of Devon Road, Colchester, pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court to conspiracy to supply cocaine.

The court heard that Gregory ran the group and Martin allowed his home to be used to process drugs while Locke and Holliday were the runners, who retrieved drugs from the hiding places and sold them on.

All four were arrested on December 11, 2019.

Holliday also admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine for a separate offence in April 2019, where officers seized cocaine and £2,500

He had also admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis after bags of herbal cannabis were seized from a car he was driving in April 2018.

Gregory, 28, was jailed for nine years and four months and Holliday, 26, was jailed for eight years and eight months.

Martin, 44, and Locke, 23, of no fixed address, were both sentenced to six years and three months.

On Tuesday ( December 14) a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act at Ipswich Crown Court heard that although Holliday’s benefit from his offending was £406,000 the available amount for confiscation was only £65,000.

Duncan O’Donnell, prosecuting, said Gregory’s benefit was £386,000 and the available amount was £10,000.

He said that Locke’s benefit was £292,000 but the available amount was only £3,000 and although Martin’s benefit was £270,000 the available amount was only £550.

Recorder Graham Huston made a confiscation order in Locke’s case of £3,000 and a confiscation order in Martin’s case of £550.

He made a £65,000 confiscation order in Holliday’s case and a £6,500 in respect of Gregory.