The trio were jailed for more than 60 years between them last Thursday, after an undercover operation revealed how they used a fruit and vegetable import business in Thatcham to cover their tracks.

Derek Duncan, 49, of Enborne, was jailed for 24 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession with intent to supply. Andrew Thorne, 37, of Woolton Hill, got 21 years for the same offences, and Richard Nuttall, 49, of East Woodhay was sentenced to 17 years for conspiracy to supply. A fourth person was acquitted.

Police found 28 kilos of almost pure cocaine when Duncan and Thorne were arrested last June. Nuttall was brought in a week later after officers discovered he was renting the premises to them.

DS Richard Miller said after the sentences: “We are very, very pleased with this result. It sends a clear message that not only does Thames Valley Police have the means and the operational intelligence to bust these smuggling rings, but that the courts will then hand down very tough sentences as a result.

“These men pleaded not guilty throughout the trial, meaning thousands of pounds of tax payers’ money was spent bringing them to justice. I cannot say how pleased I am at the result. They would have flooded the market with cocaine. Throughout the whole trial they stuck to a concocted story saying they were working for a mystery Mr X who we have proved to be a fictitious character. They have lied their way through this trial and today have paid the price.”