Four people have been charged after cocaine worth £1.2 million was seized on a luxury cruise ship.

Seven people were arrested during the operation involving Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency on the P&O ship Arcadia while it was docked in Southampton.

Four of them allegedly had a total of 30kg of cocaine strapped to their bodies.

The four who were charged were named by HMRC as Natalie Ellen Quinn, 26, of Rochdale, Lancashire; Calvin Neil Hylton, 41, of Manchester; Briony Marie Dyce, 25, of Handsworth, Birmingham and Camille Danielle Dupee, 19, for whom no address was given.

They are due before Southampton Magistrates' Court charged with drug smuggling. The three others were bailed.

None of those detained were crew members.

HMRC Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation Peter Avery said: "Drugs devastate lives and communities and we are determined to prevent them reaching UK streets.

"Our investigations will not only focus on those transporting the cocaine, but also those that finance and mastermind this illegal trade."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.