Four people pleaded guilty today to trying to smuggling £1.7 million worth of cocaine into the UK while posing as passengers on a cruise ship.

They had strapped 20 kilos of the drug to their bodies but were arrested when dozens of officers from HM Revenue & Customs and the UK Border Agency swooped on P&O’s Arcadia as it docked in Southampton, Hampshire, in October.

Officials said that 13 kilos of the drug were said to be almost 100 per cent pure.

At the time of the arrest officials said that they believed it was the biggest seizure of the drug on board a cruise ship in this country.

Peter Avery, HMRC assistant director criminal investigation, said: “The skills of our HMRC investigators and UKBA officers have kept £1.7 million of devastating drugs from our streets.

“Those guilty of smuggling this deadly cargo will be sentenced in January. Our investigators will continue to pursue those who mastermind and finance this kind of illegal trade.”

The ship had just returned from a 23-day cruise around the Caribbean, calling at islands including Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados. Prices started at £1,999 per person, rising to £5,000.

A spokeswoman for P&O said that it was the first time she had known passengers to be arrested for trying to smuggle cocaine.

Natalie Ellen Quinn, 26, of Rochdale, Calvin Neil Hylton, 41, of Manchester, Briony Marie Dyce, 25, and Camille Danielle Dupee, 19, both from Birmingham, all pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to attempting to smuggle drugs.

Judge Derwin Hope remanded the four in custody until January 16 when they will be sentenced.

Three others arrested at the same time were released on bail until January 20, 2009.

Customs officers with sniffer dogs routinely board cruise ships that have been to the Caribbean but very rarely do they find drugs in these quantities. In 2003 Customs officers found a total of 40kg of cocaine in two separate cases.

On the Arcadia, passengers could enjoy a three-tier theatre, a restaurant spanning two decks, and a spa with thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool.

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