The drugs seized on the cruise ship had an estimated street value of £1.4m Six eastern Europeans have been jailed for a total of 87 years for attempting to smuggle 35 kilos of cocaine into the UK on board a cruise ship.
They posed as passengers on the MSC Orchestra which arrived in Dover last May en route to Amsterdam from Brazil.
UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers found a number of “bodysuits” designed to be worn under outer clothing with packets of drugs stitched into them.
The drugs seized had an estimated street value of £1.4m.
Two Bulgarian men, two Bulgarian women, three Lithuanian men and one Lithuanian woman were charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Seven pleaded guilty and an eighth was convicted after a trial at Canterbury Crown Court. Six have been sentenced and the remaining two will be sentenced next week.
The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and UKBA have warned that drug traffickers are increasingly targeting cruise liners to smuggle cocaine from the Caribbean and South America to Europe.
Staff in cruise companies and travel agents have been given a list of tell-tale signs to help them identify drug smugglers pretending to be passengers.
The agencies also said the criminals may try to bribe crew members.
A spokesman said: “The popularity of cruises with UK holiday makers has risen sharply in recent years and they now account for one in 10 package holidays.
“At the same time, evidence has grown that criminals may be placing drug couriers on board and attempting to corrupt crew to ease their passage.”
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