Five gang members were jailed for a total of 72 years yesterday after smuggling cocaine worth £1 million into Hamsphire.

Customs officials stopped single mother Louise Brindle as she arrived from Bilbao in Spain at Portsmouth ferry port on December 11 2006.

They found 22lb (10kg) of cocaine from South America hidden inside her Vauxhall Corsa and arrested her.

It was the culmination of a three-year investigation, codenamed Operation Foil, during which time the gang had made eight trips abroad.

Detective Chief Inspector John Crossland, of Dorset Police, said outside court: ''Ten kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £1 million were found hidden in the vehicle and she was arrested.

''The prosecution case was that this method had been used to secrete drugs on previous journeys.''

Jafar Hajebrahim, who helped finance and procure the cocaine, moved from Bournemouth to Brazil in 2004 but was extradited to the UK in July 2008 to face trial.

Police said that Iranian Hajebrahim, 44, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and spent his share of the drugs cash to buy night-clubs, restaurants and several beachfront apartments in Rio de Janeiro.

He initially denied conspiracy to supply Class A drugs but changed his plea four weeks into the 14-week trial at Bournemouth Crown Court and he was jailed for 22 years today.

Alan Austin, 55, from Barnstaple in Devon, Poria Abraham, 24, from Bournemouth, Ali Tavakolinia, 38, from Bournemouth, and Brindle, 33, from Christchurch, were all found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Bournemouth Crown Court on April 8.

Austin, an ex fireman who also owned property in Brazil, was jailed for 22 years after helping organise and fund the operation.

Abraham, Hajebrahim's nephew, was jailed for 12 years, Iranian Tavakolinia was jailed for 11 years for his role as facilitator and go-between while Brindle, who was on benefits and became the gang's drugs mule, was jailed for five years during today's hearing.

Dorset Police's major crime team, Devon and Cornwall Police's serious and organised crime branch and criminal investigators from HM Revenue and Customs were involved in the case.

Detective Superintendent Russ Middleton, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: ''These convictions will have a lasting impact and will contribute to our aims of making it harder for other such criminals by showing them that they will be pursued and brought to justice.

''We will also seize their money and assets so that they do not profit from their crimes.''

Tim Fleming, HM Revenue and Customs senior criminal investigator, said: ''This multi-agency approach shows our determination to tackle organised crime.

''Customs officers and criminal investigators, working closely with police investigators, detected and seized 10 kilos of cocaine at Portsmouth Continental Ferry terminal in December 2006.

''This seizure was an essential part of the wider police operation.

''After Louse Brindle's arrest Customs criminal investigators aided the police investigation team with evidence gathering to help secure her conviction.''