A month old baby sat outside a court this morning as its mother and father faced jail sentences for international money laundering.

Dad Vladimir Cahani, 33, was locked up for four years for his part in the illegal cash smuggling operation.

But mum-of-two Ardita, 26, was reunited with the baby after a judge suspended her 18-month jail term.

Sentencing had been postponed since July so she could give birth.

The two had been stopped by National Crime Agency officers in Folkestone with more than 128,000 euros stashed in the dashboard of Vladimir's flash Audi car at 4am.

He denied concealing criminal property – but then officers found a photo on his mobile phone of him sporting a GB Team T shirt and brandishing wads of cash.

A jury at Canterbury Crown Court heard how he and his wife had used their nine-month-old child as cover to take the drugs cash out of the country.

Forensic officers traced fingerprints on the money to two other Albanians who were jailed for seven and six and a half years at Reading in 2014.

Now the Cahanis, from London, have been sentenced after being found guilty of concealing criminal property.

The two were travelling out of Folkestone when officers conducted a random search at Cheriton.

Underneath the dashboard of the red Audi, they found taped packages containing 128,540 euros, which led ultimately to drugs smugglers Lufti Muja and Urim Bardoshi who later admitted trying to bring 1kg of cocaine into the UK.

The prosecution said Vladimir was linked to “organised crime”.

Lawyers for Mrs Cahani said she had been naive and only became aware of the money laundering after the car was driven to north London prior to their trip to France.

Matt Rivers, from the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said: "The prime motivator behind almost all crime is money and it is highly likely that this cash would have been re-invested and fuelled further criminal enterprises.

"Organised crime groups need money launderers and cash couriers like the Cahanis, and rely on them to process the proceeds of the crime.

"We are determined to do all we can to disrupt criminal activity by cutting off that money flow."

Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe, added: "The Cahanis’ vehicle was subjected to a physical search after one of Border Force's specially trained cash detection dogs indicated that there was money concealed in the car.

"As a result of that initial indication, seven packages stuffed with cash were uncovered hidden in the car's dashboard.

"This was an excellent detection; one that has starved criminals of the proceeds of their illegal activities and which led directly to the Cahanis’ convictions."