A TILBURY man has been convicted after he was identified as a leader of a drug trafficking gang - laundering millions through sham companies.

The operation has been dismantled following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police.

The organisation was led by Tilbury man Baljinder Kang, and his right hand man Sukhjinder Pooney, from Gravesend.

Members of the crime group trafficked millions of pounds-worth of illegal drugs across England.

The proceeds were then deposited in cash into front company bank accounts, before being transferred to a destination account in Dubai.

During the course of the investigation, officers seized more than £1.4million in cash, with at least £1.8 million more known to have been laundered by the criminal network.

The police operation resulted in the seizure of over 37kgs of Class A drugs - including heroin and cocaine with a street level value of more than £3.5 million - a handgun with ammunition, and 50kgs of ketamine.

Numerous additional drug deals, including one representing “53¾” kg bought, were noted in ledgers found by officers searching Kang’s home address after he was first arrested in January 2018.

Despite having very little legitimate income, Kang lived a lavish lifestyle.

He purchased luxury goods from designer stores including Gucci and Harrods and owned watches worth £12,000 and £36,000.

He also leased a Mercedes and an Audi A3, and travelled regularly to the United Arab Emirates.

At Kingston Crown Court last week, Pooney was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs having previously pleaded guilty to money laundering offences.

One of Pooney’s cash couriers, Kieran O’Kane, was also found guilty of money laundering, while Webster Kenton and Abid Rasul were convicted of conspiracy to supply class B drugs.

Baljinder Kang pleaded guilty to all charges against him on May 23. Money launderers Amir Ali and Aminoor Ahmed did the same, on May 23 and 24 respectively.

Sentencing for the gang is scheduled for next month.