NEWS: British soldiers jailed for 50 years after smuggling drugs and guns into the UK in the back of BMW

A gang of elite British Army soldiers who smuggled drugs and guns into the UK has been jailed for a combined total of almost 50 years today.

Trooper Lemar Loveless, 26, masterminded the operation to bring a cache of guns, ammunition and £70,000 worth of cocaine through the Channel Tunnel loaded into the back of BMWs.

He had discharged himself from the Queen's Royal Hussars, the most senior light cavalry regiment of the British Army, just days before his arrest.

The pair had five guns, including two Walther PPKs favoured by fictional spy James Bond, along with three silencers, ammunition, and half a kilo of cocaine, Woolwich Crown Court heard today.

The court heard the operation was well-planned and included wrapping the illegal stash in curry powder lined tape to try to evade detection by sniffer dogs.

Evidence from the seized phones of Loveless and Dyce showed fellow soldiers Duran Wright, 28, and Lance Laurent, 26, were also involved.

Laurent, also from the Queen's Royal Hussars, had supplied Dyce with the car to carry the illicit stash, while Wright, from the Royal Logistic Corps, was instrumental in planning the operation.

Laurent and Dyce, both serving soldiers based in Germany, were arrested in March last year and charged on June 7 after flying back to the UK.

Prior to his arrest, Loveless had turned in his papers and resigned from the regiment, which is based in Sennelager, Germany, and operates Challenger tanks.

Dyce was still a serving soldier when taken into custody.

The court heard they had links to an Italian arms dealer in Germany who sold them the army-issue guns - two German Walther PPKs and three Italian converted pistols - and cocaine.

A fifth defendant, Romone Marshelleck, 24, was waiting to receive the guns in London to sell on to members of the criminal underworld.

Police raided his home in south London, and found pictures of him on an iPad posing with guns and ammunition.

They also found a picture of guns and bullets arranged to spell the words 'f*** love'.

Dyce, of Smethwick, West Midlands, Laurent, of Battersea, south London, Wright, of New Cross, south east London, and Loveless, of Islington, north London, were all convicted of conspiracy to import firearms and conspiracy to import cocaine.

Dyce admitted the drugs charge prior to the trial and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Loveless and Laurent pleaded guilty to the firearm offences at the start of the trial, which concluded earlier this week.

Loveless, marked out as the ringleader, was jailed for 14 years, and Laurent was sentenced to ten years behind bars.

Wright was jailed for ten years.

Marshalleck, of Wimbledon, London, was convicted of conspiracy to import firearms.

He received a six-and-a-half year prison sentence