'Mules' swallow London cocaine

Twenty-five passengers on a flight into Heathrow had swallowed cocaine which they planned to sell on the streets of London before Christmas.

The group, all so-called "drug mules", were arrested yesterday as they stepped off the plane from Jamaica. Today, customs officials expressed astonishment at "the scale of the operation".

A source said: "We have not seen anything like this before. Jamaica has long been one of the key sources for smugglers bringing drugs into Britain, but the numbers on this one flight are a serious development."

The arrests, the result of a joint operation by customs and the Met's Operation Trident, which deals with armed black violence, come as police and customs launch a campaign to target drug smuggling and dealing over Christmas. Drugs form a lucrative trade for Jamaica's criminal gangs, spawning a deadly rivalry which has spilled over into violence on London's streets.

Customs minister Paul Boateng said: "These arrests will send a clear message to the organised crime rings involved that the Government is determined to crack down on drug smuggling.They can look forward to more of their people being arrested until they realise that their ruthless tactics are not going to bear any fruit."

The arrests are understood to have come as the result of a long-term operation involving liaison with the Jamaican authorities and undercover surveillance on the island.

A customs spokeswoman said: "Concealing drugs inside the body is an extremely dangerous way to try and smuggle. The swallowers very often do not realise the seriousness of what they are doing. They are told before they leave their point of departure that they will just be sent back if they are found to have drugs.

"Britain has a strong deterrent policy and those caught attempting to smuggle can always expect a custodial sentence. Customs officers are tackling the problem head-on with special operations such as this one between now and Christmas and into the New Year."

During last year, at least 31 smugglers were taken to hospital by customs officers after packages containing drugs began to leak inside their bodies. Two months ago, a 30-year-old woman died on a plane arriving at Heathrow from Jamaica after swallowing 55 packages of cocaine.

Last week, a further nine people were convicted at Isleworth Crown Court of trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain by swallowing it. The sentences ranged from 18 months to six years.

The cases highlight the growing numbers of "mules" smuggling cocaine from Jamaica. In September, a Jamaican man was seized at Heathrow with 17 kilos of cocaine worth £1.5million, one of the largest individual seizures at an airport, and two women were arrested as they tried to board a flight to the UK with £1million-worth of cocaine.