A FATHER-and son duo who made £3million running a heroin smuggling ring have been ordered to pay back just £75,000.

Graham Ellis, who ran the Cricketers Inn, in London Road, Westcliff, was jailed in 2015 for 20 years after being found guilty of conspiring to import and supply both cocaine and heroin, and possession of £50,000 of criminal funds.

The 56-year-old was locked up alongside his son Gareth, 36, of Grosvenor Road, Westcliff, who was sentenced to nine years after admitting conspiracy to import and supply the class A drugs.

Two other men, Gary Malone, 44, of London Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, and Ian Hall, 35, of Navenby Road, Wigan, were also convicted.

Graham Ellis brought £3.5million of heroin and 26kg of high grade cocaine into the country using his Southend-based haulage firm El Trans as a front.

The gang were caught after lorry driver Malone travelled back into the UK via Dover on July 2, 2014, parking at the Titan Lorry Park in Thurrock.

The following day Gareth Ellis and Ian Hall arrived at the park and Hall was later stopped by police on the M1 with 9kgs of heroin and 3kgs of cocaine.

He was jailed for six years eight months in July 2014 after admitting possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Malone, 46, was jailed for 12 years after police later caught him entering the country with a stash of drugs hidden in a fake HGV battery.

Graham Ellis, of London Road, Westcliff, was ordered to repay £40,000 of his £1,584,639.11 profit within three months or face a further year in jail.

Gareth Ellis, of Grosvenor Road, Westcliff, was given the same time period to repay £32,000 of his £1,689,539.80 benefit or spend 12 more months behind bars.

Malone, of London Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, is set to pay back £17,740.84 of his £43,489.21 within three months to avoid an extra six months in jail.

Detective Constable Steve Masterson, of the Metroplitan Police’s Organised Crime Command, said: “These three individuals thought that they had found a foolproof way of smuggling millions of pounds of cocaine and heroin into the country.

“They were very wrong about that.

“These significant sentences should act as a warning to those who would seek to smuggle class A drugs into the UK.

“The MPS will use all its experience to pursue you and ensure you face justice.”

Graham Ellis was also a car enthusiast and had broken his neck while qualifying for the 2013 National Finals at the Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire.

When he was arrested police also found a car worth 120,000 euros and a part-built drag racer car designed to be the fastest in Europe.