Farnborough Airport cocaine trial: Drugs were worth 'more than £50m' Published duration 30 July 2018

image copyright Border Force image caption The private jet arrived at Farnborough Airport in January

Five men attempted to import half a tonne of cocaine with a street value of more than £50m into the UK from Colombia, a court has heard.

Suitcases containing 500kg of the drug were found on a private jet at Farnborough Airport in January.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court heard it was a "huge importation" of 513 blocks of cocaine hydrochloride which weighed about a kilo each.

The five men, including three from Dorset, deny the charges.

Brothers Martin and Stephen Neil, aged 48 and 53, from Bournemouth Hill in Poole, are charged with fraudulent evasion of a prohibition in relation to a class A controlled drug.

Italian national Alessandro Iembo, 28, of Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, and Spanish nationals Victor Franco-Lorenzo, 40, and 56-year-old Jose Ramon Miguelez-Botas, who are also charged with the same offence.

Opening the case, prosecutor Kerry Maylin told jurors the men travelled together in the private jet from London Luton Airport on 26 January.

Jurors were told when they landed at Farnborough three days later they had with them 15 suitcases which were inspected by Border Force officials.

Inside was children's and women's clothing and cocaine which had a street value of more than £50m, said Ms Maylin.

image caption Subsequent checks revealed Bruno Mars had been in Colombia when the men are said to have flown there

Jurors heard Mr Iembo, Martin Neil and Mr Franco-Lorenzo had made an initial three-day trip to Bogota on 8 December 2017.

Ms Maylin told the court that a woman who had booked the private jet for that trip had paid for it with £128,000 in cash.

"She said they were leaders in the field of cryptocurrency, they were involved in the music industry and that her clients would be meeting Bruno Mars in Colombia," Ms Maylin told the court.

Subsequent checks revealed the singer had been in the South American country at that time.

As part of the booking, the hire company was also asked that a luxury chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce Phantom car collect the men at Farnborough and take them to an address in Bromley, south-east London, the court heard.