Five men have been arrested after half a tonne of cocaine worth more than £50 million was discovered in a private jet.

Border Force officers found around 500kg of the Class A drug after searching a twin-engined aircraft that flew into the UK from Bogota in Colombia on Tuesday.

Two Britons, two Spaniards and an Italian were arrested on suspicion of importing Class A drugs after the jet landed at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire.

A suitcase containing packages of cocaine which was found in a plane arriving from Colombia

The Border Force said that the drug was hidden in 15 suitcases that were found on board

The discovery is believed to have been one of the largest recent seizures of its kind. The Border Force said that the drug was hidden in 15 suitcases found on board.

The plane belongs to an Austrian company called Tyrolean Jet Services based in Innsbruck, according to The Sun.

Border Force Deputy Chief Operating Officer Mike Stepney said: 'After meeting the flight and questioning those on board, officers became suspicious and searched the aircraft and their luggage.

'When opened, each case was found to contain between 34 to 37 tape wrapped packages weighing approximately one kilo each.

'One of these was pierced and a white powder exposed which tested positive for cocaine.'

Border Force officers found the drugs after searching this aircraft at Farnborough Airport

Three properties in Bournemouth, Dorset, were also searched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of the investigation, and computers and phones taken away for examination.

NCA operations manager Siobhan Micklethwaite said: 'This is a major seizure of cocaine, one of the largest flown into the UK by plane in many years, and this seizure by Border Force represents a major blow to organised crime.

'We estimate that once cut and sold on the streets in the UK it would have had a potential value in excess of £50 million.'

The aircraft crew were questioned before being released without charge.