A WOMAN has been jailed for four years after being caught trying to smuggle nearly £300,000 of liquid cocaine through Gatwick.

Border Force officers searched the luggage of Hazel Blasby, 36, after she arrived on a flight from Barbados on the morning of June 17 this year.

They found a two litre bottle labelled “fruit punch syrup” which they sent away for testing.

Forensic analysis of the liquid later revealed it contained the equivalent of 1.77 kilos of cocaine, which if cut and sold in the UK would have had a street value of £297,000.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) launched an investigation that led to Blasby, of Calverley Close, Beckenham, London, being jailed for four years.

Carole Upshall, Border Force regional director, said: “I’ve no doubt this cocaine was destined for the streets of the UK, and this seizure will represent a significant dent in the profits of the criminals involved.

“Working with our colleagues from the NCA we are determined to do all we can to stop traffickers like Blasby and the criminal networks involved in drug smuggling.”