A pair of brothers have been jailed after they used the Dark Web to buy drugs which they sold to friends at a huge profit.

Jamie McAllister found the suppliers through an illegal website known as the Silk Road and his brother Nathan Wilson arranged the international money transfers and sold the drugs.

They were caught when customs intercepted the heroin and cannabis which were hidden in secret compartments of handbags imported from India.

They paid £3,400 in Western Union transfers to Thailand for drugs which had a street value in Britain of almost £14,000, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Bed maker McAllister, aged 35, of Prospect Terrace, Newton Abbot, and council worker Wilson, aged 30, of Braddon Street, Torquay, both admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cannabis.

Their mother sobbed in the public gallery as McAllister was jailed for three years and Wilson for two years and eight months by Recorder Mr James Waddington.

He told them:"McAllister used the dark internet and the notorious Silk Road website to course the drugs from Thailand and India and there were three importations.

“Wilson also played an important role without which the enterprise could not have taken place by sending money and by contacting people to whom you both supplied drugs.”

Mr Brian Fitzherbert, prosecuting, said McAllister’s laptop was used to access the dark web through a Firefox browser and secure e-mail system.

He found the Silk Road website, which has since been closed down by the FBI, and ordered drugs from suppliers operating out of Thailand and India.

Customs intercepted three parcels in and space of ten days in March 2014 and found the drugs in false bottoms of handbags.

One parcel with 60 grams of heroin was sent to McAllister and further packages containing a total of 2.2 kilograms of cannabis were sent to both of them.

Messages on Wilson’s phone showed him offering deals to customers and telling them ‘the postman has delivered’.

McAllister said he had started a business importing sarongs and saris but later admitted importing drugs. His brother said he was helping his brother by arranging the payments.

Mr Martin Salloway, for McAllister, said he had a strong work ethic and ran his won business making beds. He had never been involved in class A drug dealing before.

Mr Kevin Hopper, defending Wilson, said he played a lesser role and operated on behalf of his brother. He said he played no part in running the scheme.