Drug dealers who hid cocaine in bookcase jailed for 20 years

A pair of drug dealers who hid £1 million worth of cocaine in a secret bookcase chamber have been jailed, authorities said.

The remote control-activated compartment containing 9.6kg of the class A substance was found in the bedroom of Amber May, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Footage shot by investigators shows a white shelf that rises after a button is pressed, revealing a cabinet containing several brown packages wrapped in plastic.

May, 30, of Surbiton, south-west London, was sentenced to five years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Kingston Crown Court on Friday following a trial, the CPS said.

She had tried to blame Klisdorin Lumnica, 24, for installing the secret compartment and claimed she had no knowledge of it.

But the court heard evidence the pair conspired together, exchanging texts about the remote control, with May reminding Lumnica to "remember to put the blind down", the CPS added.

The offences took place between January 11 last year and May 18 this year.

Lumnica, of Epsom, Surrey, who had earlier admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs, was sentenced to 14 years on Friday, the CPS said.

Prosecutor Andrew Hope said: "Amber May claimed she had no knowledge of this drugs stash but the CPS was able to prove she was trusted by Klisdorin Lumnica to look after a large and valuable quantity of cocaine."