A COUPLE who smuggled nearly 14,000 ecstasy tablets from Rotterdam to Hampshire are today behind bars.

Maria Sutton, 25, was jailed for five years and Jamie Davis, 30, for six years, for smuggling the drugs into the country in December. Davis's total jail term after being sentenced for other offences was seven years, 11 months.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how father- of-two Davis, who has 18 previous convictions including burglary and possession of class B drugs, instigated the importation of the drugs.

Matthew Buckland, prosecuting, described how the pair - who met working in Spain - collected the tablets in Holland before travelling to Brussels.

There they stayed and did some Christmas shopping - so as not to alert suspicions - before catching the Eurostar train back to Waterloo in London.

Later, on the day of their return, uniformed police officers stopped Davis in Gosport while he was driving in his car. They found 5.8 grams of cocaine, a small amount of cannabis and two ecstasy tablets on him.

Police raided the house Davis was renting in Chartwell Close, Titchfield, where Miss Sutton was also staying and found 12 bags containing ecstasy tablets in the kitchen.

They also discovered a quantity of cannabis and amphetamines and found that one of the upstairs bedrooms had been converted into a cannabis-growing factory with fans, heaters, and a water pump.

In police interviews both Sutton and Davis, pictured, admitted importing the tablets.

Simon Privett, mitigating for Sutton, described her as a woman of good character from a decent and hardworking family in County Wexford, Ireland.

William Mousley, mitigating for Davis, a painter and decorator, told the court he had £7,500 debts to pay off, adding: "This is a man who fell prey to drug addiction at an early stage of his life and his life has been a mess."

Sutton pleaded guilty to one charge of importing 13,995 ecstasy tablets. She wept as she was told by Judge Roger Jarvis: "You knew you were running a considerable risk."

Davis admitted one charge of importing 13,995 ecstasy tablets, possessing 5.8 grams of cocaine, 499 grams of cannabis, 26.8 grams of amphetamines with intent, two ecstasy tablets, herbal cannabis and producing cannabis.