A MAN has been charged with trying to smuggle £80,000 worth of cocaine into Britain onboard a cruise ship.

Anthony Spence, 45, from Jamaica, was arrested on Saturday after arriving in Southampton on the MV Grand Princess.

The drugs were discovered by customs officials inside a pair of trainers that were in a rucksack. Staff from the UK Border Agency found around two kilograms of cocaine.

Spence was charged with attempting to import a class A substance, and appeared before Southampton Magistrates Court yesterday.

He was remanded in custody and will appear at the same court for a committal hearing on Thursday, August 18.

Tim Fleming, senior investigating officer from the UK Border Agency’s Criminal and Financial Investigation unit at Southampton, said: “As this detection shows, our officers are on constant alert, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep class A drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

“We are determined to prevent this terrible trade which can have such a destructive impact on the lives of so many.”

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling can call the smuggling hotline on 0800 59 5000.