Inside was more than kg of the Class A drug. But the plan fell apart after a member of staff at an X-ray machine became suspicious of the rectangular-shaped blocks in the cases, and border officials swooped in. The recruited members - all US nationals - were split into 'teams' and travelled to Manchester on different flights, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Three members of the group were arrested on the spot, four others were detained in rooms at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, opposite the airport - and Mass and Hunt - who were in a relationship - were found naked in bed when officers burst in.
One case has never been found. Yuilbath Gonzalez was sentenced to nine years after the attempted drug smuggling. Brianna Hunt, 22, and her boyfriend Charles Mass, 29, pictured 'aborted their plan' and were naked in a hotel bed when officers burst in and arrested them.
Six people have now been jailed for their roles in the 'sophisticated' operation, which prosecutors said was 'orchestrated' by crooks further up the chain. Another faces prison pending a further hearing. Their arrivals - on the morning May 31 last year - were timed to coincide with an incoming flight from Cancun in Mexico.
On that plane were 12 suitcases, each containing between 22 and 24 blocks of cocaine. Every case had different a name tag attached. The members were each given the details of two cases to collect. The 'key orchestrator' was a person named in court as 'Nate'. He worked 'in close connection' with an associate called 'Cruz', prosecutors said. They recruited members; made travel arrangements; and communicated with them via WhatsApp and Telegram.
