DRUG couriers who were stopped with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin on a Warrington motorway have been jailed.

Hassan Yol, aged 39, of Chigwell, Essex, and Thomas Keating, aged 25, of Park View in Huyton, Liverpool, were described by Judge David Hale as 'an integral part in the operation', during a hearing at Warrington Crown Court on Friday.

They were stopped in June this year in a vehicle between Junction 19 and Junction 20 on the M6 and during a police search, four kilos of heroin were discovered in a holdall in the boot.

The two men, along with a third defendant, Murat Yurdakul, aged 29, of Enfield, London, who is still to be sentenced, were believed to be heading from London to Liverpool with the drugs.

The drugs were found to be 35 to 40 per cent proof, which equated to about one and a half kilos of 100 per cent proof heroin.

On the wholesale market, the drugs were believed to have a value of between £64,000 and £88,000.

It had a street value just short of £400,000.

The court heard that Hassan Yol was the driver of the car, and said that he had agreed to drive the Audi, of which no one has claimed ownership, to repay debts, knowing that there were drugs in the car.

He said he was totally ashamed of his actions. In Thomas Keating's case, the court was told that he had a stable family to return to.

Judge Hale sentenced the pair to five years and nine months in prison.