Corrupt insider and two accomplices jailed for shipping £4.3m worth of crystal meth into Australia – South London News

A woman and two men who shipped crystal meth to Australia, where it is believed to be worth up to £4.3m on the street, have been jailed.

Yvonne Stewart, 55, of York Road, South CroydonKevin Filkins, 54, of Deerleap Lane, Sevenoaks, and Robert Hamilton, 53, of Doveney Close, Orpington, were involved in a drug-trafficking operation in January 2023.

Filkins, Stewart and Hamilton were convicted on 13 January 2023 after a trial at Croydon royal court

They were sentenced at the same court on Friday to 12 years, 12 years and 13 years and six months respectively.

The sentence followed an investigation by the Crime Squad (OCP) – a National Crime Agency and a unit of the Met.

After 24 kilograms of crystal meth was seized in Australia, the country’s Border Force and Australian Federal Police (AFP) determined the shipment came from the UK.

OCP investigators discovered the drugs were sent from Croydon on June 25, 2021, with CCTV footage identifying Stewart, who was working in the freight sector at the time.

The footage also captures Filkins sending a shipment labeled “two glass Buddhas” to New South Wales, Australia.

Stewart was responsible for the security inspection of the item. The package contained nothing but drugs, which were not concealed, proving that Stewart had not checked the contents.

Phone records showed that at key moments, Stewart had been on the phone with Hamilton, who in turn had contacted Filkins.

Hamilton acted as an intermediary, putting Filkins in touch with Stewart, who could facilitate the export of the drugs.

OCP investigators found that Stewart, Filkins and Hamilton had previously sent two other shipments to Australia on June 2 and June 24, 2021.

The named consignors for all three shipments were people whose passports were stolen.

One of the shipments was paid for using a card registered to one of those people.

This card, along with one of the stolen passports, was found in a search of Filkins’ home.

Detective Superintendent Callum Hughes, the AFP’s senior officer in London, said: “This result should serve as a warning to those who attempt to undertake this type of criminal activity, the risk of a lengthy sentence far outweighs the short-term benefits of your actions.” .

Image above: from left, Yvonne Stewart, Kevin Filkins and Robert Hamilton (Image: NCA)

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