A couple from Wolverhampton who were involved in the smuggling of more than £382,000 worth of cocaine into Britain hidden in coffee bags have been jailed for a total of 20 years.

Rebekah Mundle, aged 23, was jailed for nine years after being stopped at Gatwick Airport as she got off a flight from the Bahamas. A court heard that officials found quantities of the drug hidden in coffee bags within her luggage and that of two other women, who were cleared of a drugs offence.

The find led customs officers to Washington Shearer, aged 42, who was yesterday jailed for 11 years.

Croydon Crown Court heard that Shearer, of Maxwell Road, All Saints, had not been on the women’s flight but had been on their plane for the outward trip.

Investigations showed that Shearer had been in phone contact with Mundle and, when his home was searched, coffee of the same brand as discovered in the women’s cases was found.

Mundle, of Wheatley Street, Parkfields and Shearer had denied being knowingly concerned in the importation of almost 3kg of the drug.

Selina Freeman, aged 23, of Chester Street, Whitmore Reans, and a 17-year-old girl who cannot be named, were also stopped at Gatwick in November 2006, and were cleared of the same offence following the trial of all four defendants.

In evidence, all the girls denied knowing they had drugs in their luggage, and Shearer claimed he had had nothing to do with the smuggling arrangements, although he admitted he had flown out to the Bahamas on the same flight as the girls.

Recorder Miss Daphne Wickham imposed a travel restriction on Shearer, which prevents him from leaving the country for four years after he is released from prison.

She told Mundle: “Shearer had a great influence on you.”