Four drug smugglers caught with a ton of high purity cocaine on board fishing boat
NCA investigators established that a tracker found in the drugs haul was linked to a user in South America
Packages are seized and examined on board the Lily Lola
Four drug smugglers who were caught with more than a ton of high purity cocaine on board their fishing boat off the coast of Cornwall have been jailed in the UK.
Michael Kelly (45), Jake Marchant (27), Jon Williams (46) and Patrick Godfrey (31) were convicted after a trial in March for their roles in attempting to smuggle the £100m haul on board the Lily Lola, in September of last year.
The men were caught after the Border Force cutter HMC Valiant was on patrol off the north coast of Cornwall shortly after 2pm on September 13 and deployed a RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) to intercept the Lily Lola.
Williams, the captain who was at the helm, had bought the boat for around £140,000 two months earlier.
Michael Kelly, Patrick Godfrey, Jon Williams and Jake Marchant. Photo: NCA
Marchant, of no fixed abode, was next to him while Kelly, of Portway, Manchester, was in the accommodation area.
Godfrey, of Danygraig Road, Port Tennant, Swansea, was asleep in a deck chair.
After the Lily Lola was taken into a secure port, the seized substances on board were divided into bales and removed from the vessel.
Testing proved that it was high purity cocaine.
An electronic device that had been on board was downloaded and some messages were recovered showed the boat had been receiving instructions and co-ordinates from a third party.
Godfrey's phone also revealed a message he had sent reading: 'Delete everything u see and not show anybody'.
His phone also showed there was an internet search of, 'how long does it take a ship to leave Peru to UK'.
NCA investigators established that a tracker found in the drugs haul was linked to a user in South America
Williams, Godfrey and Marchant made no comment when interviewed and Kelly claimed he was on a fishing trip.
However, Kelly and Marchant pleaded guilty before trial at Truro Crown Court on October 15 and were sentences to 21 years and 18 respectively this week.
Packages are seized and examined on board the Lily Lola
News in 90 Seconds - May 9th
Williams was sentenced to 26 years while Godfrey was handed down a 25 year sentence
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said the agency works around the clock to fight the threat of Class A drugs which wreck people's lives and devastate our communities.
He said: 'Working with Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, we prevented a huge haul of cocaine from hitting the streets of the UK and wider Europe and ensured organised criminals are deprived of the significant profits they would have gained had these drugs made it into the country.'
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