Drug smugglers caught with £18m cocaine haul in dinghy off Cornwall
Scott Johnston, 38, of Havant, in Hampshire, and Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, 33, of Barcelona, Spain, tried to outrun officers for around 28 miles at sea after their boat was spotted off the coast of Cornwall last year.
The pair were jailed for 24 years and 17 years and seven months respectively at Truro Crown Court on Aug 1.
Michael May, 47, of Brentwood, and Terry Willis, 44, of Chelmsford, helped organise collection of the drugs. May was sentenced to 19 years' imprisonment and Willis was handed 21 years and eight months in jail.
A further two men – Peter Williams, 43, of Havant, and Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood – are to be sentenced on Aug 21, while Alex Fowlie, 35, of Chichester, will be sentenced on Sept 5.
Johnston, Williams and Baca were spotted by Border Force officers in an inflatable boat off the coast of Newquay in September last year.
Officers suspected the passengers on the boat had picked up the drugs from a larger ship at sea, and tried to intercept it.
As the officers approached the boat, it sped off and a chase unfolded during which the drug smuggling crew threw packages into the water.
After an hour, their boat ran aground at Penzance and Border Force officers quickly caught up with them on foot.
Six large bales were recovered from the sea, containing around 230kg of powder, which specialist analysts identified as high-purity cocaine.
The investigation was referred to officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA), who subsequently identified Fowlie – who was responsible for purchasing the boat – Pearce, May and Willis.
Audio messages retrieved from his phone by officers after his arrest revealed he also started organising further at-sea drug collections just days after his co-conspirators were arrested.
All seven men initially denied their crimes. Baca even claimed to be a tourist who had accepted an invitation from two strangers to go fishing.
However, officers recovered messages from his phone in which he discussed the group's plans and shared a photo of the cocaine on the boat.
Five of the men eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class A drugs. Among those who pleaded guilty was Willis, who also admitted money laundering and possession of a firearm, relating to a revolver and ammunition found at his home address by NCA officers.
May and Johnston went to trial and were found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs on June 23.
Barry Vinall, senior investigating officer at the NCA, said: 'These are substantial sentences for four men who didn't care about the misery cocaine causes, they just wanted to make a profit.
'Cocaine is one of the most harmful illegal drugs in the UK, linked to thousands of deaths and fuelling violent crime that wrecks communities and lives.
'Working together, Border Force stopped cocaine worth millions from making it onto UK streets and the National Crime Agency ensured that the group behind its importation faced justice.'
Duncan Capps, Senior Director of Border Force Maritime said: 'It is the job of Border Force to protect our border and keep communities safe.
'Our officers were fantastic and displayed incredible skill during the 28-mile pursuit, despite the suspects' attempts to get rid of evidence.
'Border Force will continue to work alongside the NCA to prevent dangerous drugs reaching our streets and will ensure criminals caught smuggling face the full force of the law.'
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