Two drug couriers who were caught as they attempted to smuggle drugs into Malta were yesterday jailed a total of 19 years and fined €45,000.

Rather than facing trials by jury, the two Africans decided to admit to the charges brought against them.

Stephen Nana Owusu, 36, of Ghana was jailed for 11 years and fined €30,000 after he pleaded guilty to importing almost 800 grammes of heroin in capsules hidden in his stomach.

Mr Owusu had been arrested as he arrived on a flight from Brussels in July 2009.

Touray Sana, 30, of Gambia was jailed for eight years and fined €15,000 for importing almost half a kilogramme of cocaine.

The drug was hidden inside the soles of the shoes he was wearing and in the soles of another pair of shoes inside his luggage. He was caught with the drug as he arrived in Malta from Girona, Spain, on September 11, 2008. The drugs had a street value of over €35,000.

Customs and police officers had searched him after it was noted that there was something strange about the way he was walking.

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano presided over the cases.