A gang of Spanish smugglers have been jailed for a total of 42 years after trying to smuggle cocaine worth more than £4 million through Gatwick Airport.

The drugs haul was one of the biggest ever cocaine seizures at Gatwick.

The three women and one man were caught after they flew into the airport from the Dominican Republic.

Each of them had two pieces of “carry-on” luggage when they arrived at the airport’s South Terminal on Friday, February 10.

However, when these were searched by Border Force officers, the drugs were found inside, wrapped in silver foil.

The four were each carrying between 19 and 27 kilograms of cocaine.

The total 86 kilogram haul had a wholesale value of more than £4 million.

If cut and sold on the street though, the cocaine could have had a value of more than £8 million.

The case was referred to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), who took up the investigation.

The four were later charged with importing a class A drug, and pleaded guilty.

They were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday (May 17).

Felix Yague Abello, 39, and Ana Isabel Palacios Exposito, 28, both from Barcelona, were sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Estafani Pardo Puertolas, 18, from Sant Boi Dellobregat, and Johanna Estefani Solis Jaramillo, 19, from Guayas, were both sentenced to ten years.

Carole Upshall, Border Force director for the South of England, said: “This was one of the biggest seizures of its kind that we have ever had at Gatwick, and the sentences handed down today reflect that.”

Ms Upshall said: “Our officers are on constant alert to keep class A drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

“Working together with SOCA and other law enforcement colleagues, we are determined to stop them reaching our streets and our communities.”

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling should call the Border Force hotline on 0800 59 5000.