TWO men have been jailed after officers found more than £10 million of cannabis hidden in hay in a lorry.

The pet hay was used to hide the drugs on a lorry stopped at the Dartford Crossing.

The men have been jailed for their involvement in a drug supply conspiracy uncovered by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Mark Owens, 58, of Beach Road in Clacton, and Paul Seabrook, 52, of Kendal Croft in Hornchurch, were sentenced when they appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday 21 September 2018.

Owens was sentenced to nine years and eight months and Seabrook was sentenced to nine years.

Owens had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cannabis while Seabrook was convicted following a trial.

Video by Kent Police

The court heard how roads policing officers pulled the lorry over at about 9am on Thursday May 12 2016 and carried out a search of its container when the driver was unable to provide sufficient information on what he was transporting or any relevant paperwork.

Several pallets holding boxes of rabbit hay were found within but officers quickly established with the help of a police sniffer dog named Sonny that the individual packets of hay had been loaded on top of cannabis with an estimated street value of up to £10.2 million.

Owens was arrested on Thursday January 25 and later admitted to being involved in the conspiracy between November 2015 and May 2016.

He had use of a site in Rainham, which was next door to the intended destination of the lorry, as well as an earlier shipment supposedly containing rabbit hay in April 2016.

Owens was also proven to have had contact with Seabrook around the time of the police discovery.

Seabrook was involved in arranging the collection of the shipment in April 2016.

His telephone number was provided by an associate to a lorry driver who was due to make the pick-up.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector James Derham said: "Criminals often go to great lengths to cover up their illegal activities, and on this occasion they tried to do so literally by placing packets of rabbit hay on top of more than £10 million worth of cannabis.

"Conspiring to sell drugs is a serious crime and we are committed to targeting the organised groups who believe the law does not apply to them and who put their own financial interests above all else.

"I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message to such offenders that we are committed and equipped to tackling organised crime groups across the county and beyond."

The rabbit hay seized from the back of the lorry was donated to the RSPCA.