Cocaine smugglers who leapt overboard are jailed after £39m drugs bust off Suffolk coast
Watch the moment Border Force officers intercept the smugglers
Two cocaine smugglers who jumped overboard after Border Force officers intercepted their boat carrying drugs worth £39m have been jailed.
Bruce Knowles, 56, from Dereham and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 32, from the Netherlands, were spotted on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat near East Benacre Broads in Suffolk in June 2024.
In the footage, Border Force officers order the pair to stop but they ignore the pleas and continue their escape bid.
Gumrukguoglu then leaps into the sea and swims away as Knowles restarts the engines and tries to flee.
After a pursuit, the boat is grounded on the beach but as officers move in to arrest Knowles, he also jumps overboard to try to escape.
Officers from Norfolk and Suffolk Police pursued Gumrukguoglu after he fled from the beach, arresting him later that day in Wrentham, Norfolk.
NCA officers searched the boat after it was towed to a harbour in Lowestoft and found 350kgs of cocaine hidden under tarpaulins in the hull.
Investigators believe Knowles and Gumrukguoglu had travelled towards French waters to pick up the drugs from a larger ship, before bringing them back to the UK.
Both men were charged with importing a controlled drug and pleaded guilty to the offence at Ipswich Crown Court in August 2024.
They were sentenced at the same court on 16 May: Knowles received a prison sentence of 17 years and three months, and Gumrukguoglu was jailed for 15 years.
Paul Orchard, NCA operations manager, said: "This was a fast-moving and dynamic interception of two men attempting to smuggle in a huge quantity of Class A drugs.
"Knowles and Gumrukguoglu continued to try and evade arrest to avoid a significant loss for their crime group. They now face long prison sentences.
"Thanks to our partners in Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, a significant amount of class A drugs have been removed from the criminal marketplace where further criminality and exploitation would have followed.
"The NCA is committed to protecting the public from serious and organised crime and stopping criminals from fuelling the UK drugs trade."
Border Force maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said: "During this pursuit, maritime officers bravely intercepted these criminals and seized 350kgs of cocaine, ensuring those who threatened our border security are now facing the full force of the law."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
7 hours ago
- The National
Michelle Mone makes 'millions in profits' after selling off Glasgow townhouses
The Scottish Mail on Sunday reports that Baroness Mone sold a £19m London townhouse and £6.8m Lady M Yacht last year. It comes after Glasgow-born Mone and her billionaire husband Doug Barrowman had £75m worth of assets frozen by the National Crime Agency (NCA). The couple are at the centre of a fraud probe over the firm PPE Medpro, controlled by Barrowman, that was awarded £203m worth of UK Government contracts through a 'VIP lane' during the Covid-19 pandemic. READ MORE: Supreme Court's sex ruling faces legal tests – will they succeed? In November 2023, Mone finally admitted her involvement with PPE Medpro for the first time, after years of denying any links to the company. It then emerged Barrowman was reportedly paid at least £65m from PPE Medpro's profits, later transferring £29m into a trust for Mone and her three adult children. Several properties were frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2023. And now, Mone has reportedly sold her Glasgow homes. The Mail on Sunday reports that there is no suggestion any of the property sales breached any existing orders put in place by the NCA. One townhouse in Glasgow's plush Park Circus was bought by Barrowman's Knox business group for £1.7m in 2020. The couple have now reportedly sold this to a photographer for £2m last year. Another nearby townhouse was sold for £2.8m, allegedly to a Scottish musician, who was not named. It was bought in July 2020 for just over £1.4m. A spokesperson for the NCA confirmed an investigation is still ongoing into PPE Medpro. 'The NCA opened an investigation in May 2021 into suspected criminal offences committed in the procurement of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro,' they said. 'This ongoing investigation remains a priority for the agency. READ MORE: Scottish independence 'already begun as UK political culture diverges' 'Investigations must pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry. In serious economic crime investigations these lines of enquiry can be incredibly complex – from worldwide financial tracing exercises to the need to examine large volumes of digital material. 'In such cases it can take considerable time to ensure that a thorough, independent and objective investigation is conducted.' PPE Medpro is also being sued by the Department of Health and Social Care, amid claims that the gown supplied by the firm were not fit for use. We previously told how Mone accused the NCA of "smearing [her] as a criminal".
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Glasgow Times
Dawn French apologises after ‘mocking tone' in video about Israel-Hamas conflict
The Vicar Of Dibley actress posted a video on social media this week in which she switched between her normal voice and a higher pitched voice. In the video about the conflict, she said: 'Complicated, no, but nuanced', adding: 'Bottom line is, no.' Then at one point she said in the higher pitched voice: 'Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us.' French has now posted a statement on X saying she has taken down the video and apologised, saying her intention was never 'to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened' on October 7 2023. The statement, posted on Saturday, says: 'Ok, it's important to address this. 'I posted a video in the style I've been using for social media in an effort to convey an important point. I clumsily used a mocking tone. 'My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgivable, savage attack. 'My heart broke for the many innocent people and their families that were killed, tortured, r@ped and kidnapped. The fact that hostages are still held is utterly appalling. 'My intention was to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on ALL sides of this atrocious war, who have continued to behave like the worst, dangerous, sickening bullies and seem to relish the tyrannical and childish oneupmanship of the violence. THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly. I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided, and that is wrong. 'I am a person, who like many others, is feeling increasingly helpless and hopeless as we witness the carnage and destruction worsen. The images of starving and wounded children have haunted me day and night. History has taught us never to stand by and allow this kind of inhumane violence to be wrought on anyone, especially innocent children. 'I have felt my silence is complicit or even somehow sanctioning. So in my small way I wanted to voice my desire to say NO – to BOTH sides – to any further violence. 'I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but clearly I have. For which I'm sorry and I have removed the video.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Supermarket worker caught at airport with £1.2million in his suitcase as he claimed he was jetting off on family holiday is jailed for money laundering
A supermarket worker who claimed he was jetting off on a family holiday when he was found with £1.2million in his suitcase has been jailed. Mazen Al Shaar, 48, was stopped by Border Force officers on March 15 as he was about to fly from Terminal Three at Heathrow to Beirut. The supermarket worker, of Marsworth Close, Middlesex, said he only had £500 in cash on him and that he was leaving the UK to visit family. But officers searched his three suitcases and two of them contained a total of £1,232,880. Al Shaar, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday after admitting one count of money laundering. Peter Jones, NCA operations manager, said: 'Money launderers are at the absolute centre of serious and organised crime because they enable other offenders to make money from their offences. 'Criminals who deal drugs, firearms, smuggle migrants and commit other organised crime offences do so because of their greed. 'And it's offenders like Al Shaar who work hand in glove with them to make it all worthwhile. 'By seizing this money and bringing him to justice, we have broken one crucial link in the chain and we've deprived an organised crime group of the profit they expected to receive. That money cannot now be ploughed back into further offending.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'This seizure highlights Border Force's dedicated efforts to protect our borders and keep the public safe. Our officers are trained to spot suspicious behaviour and identify attempts to move illicit cash and other prohibited items across our borders. 'We continue to work closely with law enforcement partners, including the NCA to disrupt criminal networks.'
