A couple caught with a stolen car, cocaine and fake identity cards have been jailed. 

Bruno Banaj, 31, from Wiverton Road, London, pleaded guilty to the charges of possession with intent to supply cocaine, use of a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, receiving stolen goods, and driving a motor vehicle without a licence.

His wife, Deliona Banaj, 23, who does not have a permanent address, also pleaded guilty after being charged with possessing identity documents with intent and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent.

The couple were sentenced in Ipswich on March 15. 

The pair had been caught on January 2, when the Hyundai they stole opened its AMPR camera and alerted the police. 

Deliona Banaj, who was jailed for eight months, had a fake Slovenian ID and was found with bags of crack cocaine in her jacket pocket.

Her husband admitted that the cocaine was his and that he would sell it in parts of Essex. 

East Anglian Daily Times: Picture of Bruno Banaj Picture of Bruno Banaj (Image: Essex Police)

On Friday, the defence said that the 31-year-old had come to the UK as an economic migrant after facing debt problems in his home country, Albania. 

After living in London for a while he was not able to get a job and pay his debt, but said the person who paid for his visa threatened his family if the money was not returned. 

The 31-year-old was offered the alternative of selling cocaine in Essex and was given a car.

Upon hearing this, his wife Deliona decided to come to the UK, however in her pre-sentence report she admitted that she came to the UK under a fake license from Slovenia. 

The couple had pled not guilty during an earlier hearing at magistrates court but changed their plea.

The court noted this, however, given that Bruno Banaj was caught selling Class A drugs, the court had to class this as a category three offence meaning the least sentence he could get would be two and half years. 

He was sentenced overall to 27 months, after a mitigation plea. 

According to the Home Office rules any jail sentence of over 12 months, for a non-British citizen, would mean the defendant will be automatically deported. 

 Deliona Banaj, was given an eight months jail sentence, after which it is up to the Home Office to consider whether she would be allowed to remain in the UK.