A man and a woman have been jailed after Border Force officers foiled two separate attempts to smuggle cocaine and heroin into the country.

On July 30 last year a seizure was made at the tourist controls in Dover’s Eastern Docks when Border Force officers stopped Ludrisca Penny, a 29-year-old Dutch national in a French registered Audi.

After questioning her, officers searched the vehicle and found four motorcycle silencers in three boxes within a large holdall.

The silencers were x-rayed and packages were seen inside them.

Once opened they revealed white powder which tested positive to a field test for cocaine.

It weighed approximately six kilos and had an estimated street value of £250,000.

Penny was arrested and the investigation was passed to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

After a trial lasting five days at Canterbury Crown Court, she was found guilty by a jury on Thursday, February 12 and sentenced there the same day.

Penny received a sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

On Tuesday, November 11 last year officers at the Channel Tunnel freight controls in Coquelles stopped and searched a Romanian-registered lorry by Petru Gabriel Duduman.

Within the bodywork of the lorry’s cab they found more than 48 kilos of cocaine and four kilos of heroin with a total estimated potential street value of about £7.3 million.

Duduman was arrested and the investigation passed to the NCA.

He pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, December 22 last year and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment at the same court on February 12.

Paul Morgan, director of Border Force South East and Europe said: “These were excellent seizures and I would like to pay tribute to the Border Force officers who play a crucial role in protecting the UK from illegal drugs every day.

“We work closely with law enforcement colleagues, including the NCA, to prevent drug trafficking and do all we can to put those responsible behind bars.”

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