THREE men who swallowed £28,500 of cocaine in an attempt to smuggle drugs through customs have been jailed for a total of more than 14 years.

They were arrested at Manchester Airport on Christmas Eve after arriving from Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Each of the men was a drug user who had built up debts with dealers and had been ordered to go to Jamaica after threats of violence, Manchester Crown Court heard.

James McWilliams, 26, of Lodge Street, Accrington and Derek Edmundson, 52, of Water Street, Accrington, were jailed for five years. Damien Aspin, 25, of Oakdene Avenue, Huncoat, was given a four-and-a-half year term after admitting carrying the drugs.

Judge Martin Steiger told them they had committed a 'grave offence' for which they must be punished.

He said: "This was apparently a joint enterprise in which you were all together both on the outward flight and on the return flight."

The court heard that the men were stopped by customs officials after picking up their bags and going through the 'nothing to declare' channel at the airport.

They initially denied carrying any drugs, but later admitted they had swallowed the packages of class A drugs.

An X-ray proved all three men had swallowed the drugs. The packages were later recovered. McWilliams had £7,000-worth of cocaine, Edmundson £16,000 and Aspin £5,500.

After their arrest, customs officials heralded the seizure of the drugs and said they kept a special eye on the Montego Bay to Manchester route.