The two girls were arrested almost two weeks ago but news has only just come to light in the last few hours after the story was leaked to the press.

The two 16-year-old college girls from Britain are being held by police in Ghana and their parents have been flown over to help deal with the situation.

They were both arrested at Accra airport, said HM Revenue and Customs. The drugs were said to have been found on them by officers from the Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board (NACOB).

"The use of such young girls as couriers vividly illustrates the ruthlessness of the criminal drug gangs involved in this traffic," said a customs spokesman.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said officers from the British Embassy have been in touch with the girls. "Next of kin have been informed and we are providing full consular assistance. We are unable to confirm any personal details due to their age," she said on condition of anonymity, per ministry policies.

With cocaine prices in Europe soaring, West Africa has become a new drug trafficking route. Cocaine, originating mostly in Columbia, is brought on small planes and dropped on islands off the West African coast, from where it is distributed to people who carry it onward to Europe.