Anthony Woodford, left, and David Lewinson have each been jailed for eight years

Two men have been jailed in a landmark case - after bringing caffeine and paracetamol into Britain through Kent.

Border officials found 150kg of the legal substances when they stopped a van at Dover Eastern Docks.

In the first case of its kind, prosecutors proved the powder would have been used as a cutting agent for heroin with a street value of more than £5million.

Anthony Woodford, 23, and David Lewinson, 44, have now each been jailed for eight years after being convicted of assisting in the supply of class A drugs.

Lewinson, of West Hendon Broadway, Collindale, Hendon, was stopped by UK Border Agency officers driving a white VW Caddy van at Dover on April 21, 2011.

A package of ground powder (pictured below) was discovered - which tests confirmed was 150kg of the cutting agent.

An investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate found Woodford, of Lascelles Avenue, Harrow, was the organiser of the trip.

DS Mat Scott, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "We believe this to be the first time in the UK that the prosecution were able to prove, beyond doubt, that the huge quantity of paracetamol and caffeine were intended to be used to cut with heroin.

"This has been a successful test case and therefore has set a precedent for this type of offence.

"The sentence given today will send a clear message to those involved in the importation and supply of drugs that we will relentlessly investigate when we feel that offences are being committed."