The court had heard that Phipps was the transport manager of a transport business called JBS Transport in Nechells while Geoffrey and Tina Edwards ran AE Transport based in Dolman Street, Birmingham.

Matters came to light thanks to an eagle-eyed warehouse manager in Brussels who became suspicious about pallets containing metal rollers which were making a regular round journey.

He tbecame suspicious when the same cargo of industrial rollers kept appearing. He discreetly marked the load and when they turned up again he alerted the Belgian authorities.

When they were opened, they were found to contain 20 packages of cocaine, 365 of cannabis as well as 10 packages of cutting agent for cocaine.

The drugs were allowed to go on their way through legitimate transport businesses, while being kept under surveillance, before being eventually picked up by Gilbert who was working for AE Transport and then transported to Ireland by Geoffrey Edwards.

Between August 2006 and February 2007 a total of 15 importation runs were detected while further investigations revealed that Cullen, who was working for JBS, had subsequently on five occasions taken more cocaine to Ireland.

During the conspiracy a bogus company and addresses were used to try and throw investigators off the scent.

Serious Organised Crime Agency deputy director Iain Macleod said: “This gang tried to smuggle a huge quantity of drugs into Ireland and there is every indication they would have carried on if it weren’t for the intervention of a keen-eyed warehouse man and some excellent international cooperation.”