A woman from Thornton Heath who acted as “the corrupt insider” has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for her part in an international drugs ring that exported £4million-worth of crystal meth to Australia.
Drugs bust: police in Australia raid an address. Crystal meth found there was shipped through Croydon
Yvonne Stewart, 55, of York Road, was convicted for her role in drug trafficking, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and Met Police.
Robert Hamilton, 53, of Doveney Close, Orpington, was also sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, and a further 18 consecutive months for cultivating cannabis, and Kevin Filkins, 54, of Deerleap Lane, Knockholt, Sevenoaks, was also given a 12-year sentence.
After 24 kilograms of methamphetamine – with an estimated street value of £4.3million – was seized in Australia, the country’s Border Force and the Australian Federal Police established that the shipment had come from Britain.
Investigators discovered that the drugs had been sent from Croydon in June 2021, with CCTV images identifying Stewart, who was working in the cargo sector at the time. The images also captured a man, subsequently identified as Filkins, sending a shipment labelled “two glass Buddhas” to New South Wales.
Sentenced: ‘insider’ Yvonne Stewart
Stewart was responsible for the security inspection of the item. The package did not contain anything except the drugs, which were not concealed, proving Stewart had not checked the contents.
Phone records showed that, at key times, Stewart had been on the phone to Hamilton, who in turn had been in touch with Filkins. Hamilton acted as the middle man, putting Filkins in touch with Stewart, who could facilitate the exportation of the drugs as a corrupt insider.
Filkins’ phone, and his vehicle, were also found to have travelled from his home address to the vicinity of the cargo centre the same morning.
Investigators also identified that Stewart, Filkins and Hamilton had previously sent two other shipments to Australia earlier that same month.
‘Two glass Buddhas’: an X-ray of the package revealed its true contents
The named senders on all three shipments were individuals who had their passports stolen. One of the consignments was paid for using a card registered to one of those individuals. This card, along with one of the stolen passports, were found in a search of Filkins’ home.
Filkins, Stewart and Hamilton were convicted in January 2023 after a trial at Croydon Crown Court. They were sentenced yesterday at the same court.
Richard Smith, from the NCA’s and Met’s Organised Crime Partnership, said: “This organised crime group sought to make huge profits by trafficking dangerous drugs to Australia. They used Stewart’s inside knowledge of the cargo industry to try to ensure their shipments made it overseas.
“We worked closely with the Australian Federal Police to dismantle this criminal supply chain and protect the public in both countries from the impact of the illegal drugs trade.”
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