TWO men are facing a total of 26 years in one of the world’s toughest prisons after being convicted of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru.

Nathan Brandon, 22, from Abingdon, and Alan Rae, 40, from Faringdon, were found with 12.3 kilos of the drug at Lima Airport in April last year.

On Wednesday, Rae was sentenced to 14 years in prison and Brandon 12 years by a Peruvian court.

Brandon, a former trainee supermarket manager, called the Oxford Mail from his cell in January to confess to the crime.

Now the men could be sent to Lurigancho, the destination for many convicted drug smugglers in Peru.

Reputed to be one of the toughest prisons on Earth, it is dominated by gangs and rife with disease, malnutrition and rioting.

A Foreign Office spokesman declined to reveal details of the sentence but confirmed both Rae and Brandon were receiving “consular help”.

Brandon, a former student at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, always maintained he was responsible for the crime.

He said: “It was me who had the drugs. I admit it. I got caught.

“Alan had no knowledge whatsoever. He didn’t get caught with anything. I take complete blame for what happened.”

Rae also became a grandfather while they were being held on remand in Peru.

His daughter Aimee, who lives with her mother and sister in Kidlington, earlier said: “Josh has never seen his granddad. I know it is breaking my dad’s heart that he is stuck over there and missing out on Josh’s first few months.

“Without being rude, my dad is not bright enough to have done this.

“He was not an angel, but this is major international drug trafficking we’re talking about.”

She also said that conditions in the prison were disgusting.

“In the summer it gets so hot it is unbearable, and in winter he freezes. Some days he wakes up and there are up to 20 cockroaches crawling on his body.”

The men were given state-appointed lawyers after their families were told it would have cost a six-figure sum to send a British one. Fair Trials International, which helps people being held in foreign jails, helped Rae with his case.

Last night neither of the men’s families were available for comment.