ONE of three cocaine smugglers sentenced to 10 years’ jail yesterday would have received £500,000 (about €550,000) if a potentially deadly €400 million cargo had reached Britain.

Three men who were caught carrying €400 million worth of cocaine past the coast of Cork in a yacht from Venezuela were all jailed today for 10 years.

IRISH consumers are being targeted in a worldwide €1.4 billion fake cheque scam.

Gardaí were tonight poised to arrest an English man recovering in hospital who is believed to hold vital information about a botched €105m cocaine smuggling ring.