TWO men who tried to import thousands of pounds worth of drugs from Peru to Hampshire have been jailed.

David Westwell and Dean Bailey used Coffee4Me, which was set up less than a month before Peruvian authorities intercepted 1.4kg of cocaine destined for East Midlands Airport on September 6, as a front for their drug smuggling.

UK authorities were notified of the shipment - which contained five boxes of coffee mixed with cocaine - and the boxes were tested when they landed, finding the cocaine to be 98 per cent pure.

To catch the suspected dealers, authorities attempted to deliver the products to Westwell’s home in Salisbury but it was arranged for it to be picked up at UPS, in Southampton Docks.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Westwell, who was standing trial in Winchester Crown Court for fraud at the time, then picked up the products, took them back to his home before being arrested later that night.

Westwell pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to drug smuggle, but Bailey was found guilty at a trial earlier this year.

Prosecutor Barnaby Shaw told the court Coffee4Me was a front for the business and that just days before the shipment was due to arrive, Westwell had searched the internet to find out how much 250g of cocaine would cost.

Judge Gary Burrell QC told the court that due to the purity, the cocaine could have been worth £77,500 but if it was cut it could have sold for up to £169,200.

He added that Westwell was the leading figure of this operation, but Bailey only had a significant role.

At the time of the incident, Westwell, 45, was giving evidence in a trial, in which he would eventually be convicted of stealing £194,000 from MNP Media where he worked as a bookkeeper.

The court heard that Westwell and Bailey, an electrician, could be seen as “novice” drug dealers and that Bailey, 35, was a man of good character.

In sentencing, Judge Burrell said: “You are going to leave a lot of people - not least your children and parents and other relatives.

“This is what happens when you commit a crime as grave as this. Other people get affected and suffer.”

Westwell, of Pembroke Road, Salisbury, was sentenced to six years imprisonment. His sentence will not begin until he completes his time for the original fraud offence.

Bailey, of Downton Road, Salisbury, was sentenced to five years imprisonment.