Ten members of a drugs gang said to have "tentacles throughout the UK" have been jailed for between four and 17 years each.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that National Crime Squad officers who smashed the gang had recovered heroin worth millions of pounds.

The gang members were arrested after a 10-month investigation, codenamed Ruin and led by the squad's Chorley branch.

They were charged with conspiracy to supply heroin between February and November 2001.

The operation netted a total of 16kg of the Class A drug. Six kilos, worth an estimated �1.6m, were recovered in Dublin.

Some of the drugs were seized in Dublin

The court heard that some members of the highly organised network led affluent lifestyles with �16,000 in cash found at the Glasgow home of one of the defendants.

Detective Chief Inspector John Tyrer, of the National Crime Squad, said: "I'm extremely pleased with today's result at court as it puts another organised criminal network firmly out of business.

"This was a network which had tentacles throughout the UK and had the potential to make millions from the drugs trade.

"We seized substantial amounts of drugs during the inquiry and ultimately broke the supply chain."

He added: "This operation, which had tremendous support from forces and other partner agencies, shows how a targeted approach to fighting serious and organised crime can achieve our shared aims."

Judge Brian Lewis sentenced nine men and one woman, from Merseyside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Scotland to lengthy prison terms.

• Two men, who cannot be named for legal reason, were jailed for 17 and 13 years respectively.

• Paul Cooper, 39, from Liverpool, was jailed for 12 years.

• Sam Smith, 42, from Liverpool, was jailed for eight years.

• George Smith, 48, of Newcastle, was jailed for nine years.

• William Shanley, 50, from Newcastle was jailed for five years.

• Malcolm Garlick, 53, formerly from Newcastle, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.

• John Whyte, 36, from Biggar, Lanarkshire, was jailed for 10 years.

• Douglas Hickey, 44, from Glasgow, was jailed for eight years.

• Barbara Welsh, 35, from Glasgow was jailed for four years.

• Gary Spargo, 42, from Liverpool, will be sentenced on 2 August along with Lee Spargo, 20, of Liverpool.

After the hearing, National Crime Squad officers made an application to launch financial proceedings under the Drugs Trafficking Act which could see the defendants stripped of any illegally gained assets.