Men who tried to smuggle £35k cocaine haul on boat jailed for 90 years

Daily Record

08-05-2025

Investigators say the drugs would likely have "blighted countless lives and communities".
A group of men convicted of attempting to smuggle £35 million worth of cocaine by boat have been handed prison sentences totalling 90 years.
Michael Kelly, 45, from Portway, Manchester, and Jake Marchant, 27, of no fixed address, admitted importing Class A drugs during an earlier hearing at Truro Crown Court last October. Kelly had previously claimed he was on a fishing trip.
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At the same court, Jon Williams, 46, and Patrick Godfrey, 31, both from Swansea, were convicted on Wednesday, March 12, following their trial.
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The National Crime Agency (NCA), which was responsible for investigating the case, said 1,076kg of cocaine was discovered on a fishing boat, called the Lily Lola, off the coast of Cornwall on September 13, 2024.
Following the discovery, which was made up of 1kg blocks as well as large bales, the boat was seized and taken to Plymouth Royal Dockyard, where tests revealed the drugs were high-purity cocaine, Cornwall Live reports.
The four men had been on board when a Border Force vessel intercepted it in the water near Newquay. Prosecutor Frederick Hookway said Williams was at the helm with Marchant alongside him. Kelly was in the accommodation area and Godfrey was asleep in a chair on deck.
A strong smell of alcohol was reported on board, but searches uncovered the drugs hidden all over the boat. The cocaine had been purchased by Williams just a few months earlier from a man in Ramsgate, Kent, for the sum of £116,000. The court was told the boat had sailed from Newquay to south of the Isles of Scilly, where the drugs were dropped off to be collected that night.
However, the Border Force cutter HMC Valiant was patrolling off the north coast of Cornwall just after 2pm and dispatched a smaller vessel to intercept the Lily Lola. The vast haul of drugs they found had a wholesale value of £35 million and 80 per cent purity.
A device also found on board was later downloaded with some messages recovered, displaying instructions and co-ordinates sent from a third party. Godfrey's own phone was seized and found to have sent a message which read: "delete everything u see and not show anybody" and an online search for "how long does it take a ship to leave Peru to UK?". NCA investigators also found a tracker in the haul which was linked to a user in South America.
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Williams' barrister said the defendant was just a fisherman who longed to return to sea, and had become involved with drugs after the death of his father, who was "his strong rudder throughout his life".
He started using cocaine and got himself into debt with a dealer to the tune of £30,000, which resulted in him becoming coerced and pressured into getting the Lily Lola drug boat.
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The barrister said: "This is a man who is intellectually challenged. His evidence was farcical at times when he said he thought the haul off the Isles of Scilly was tuna. He doesn't have the clout to have a leading role in this operation."
The barrister representing Marchant said he had been addicted to drugs since he was 13, lacked maturity and was eager to make quick money during a chaotic period in his life.
She said: "He acted in haste with no regards for the consequences and turned up from London to Cornwall on the day. He has had a chaotic lifestyle of drugs and homelessness. He's not a habitual criminal. He wanted to fund his drug habit, have a roof over his head and put food on the table.
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"He is remorseful and sorry for his actions and it is something that he will regret for the rest of his life. He was desperate and desperate people do desperate things. He has now lost his daughter but he's determined to prove he can do good when he's released from prison."
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Judge James Adkin said nobody would ever involve themselves in an operation to import £35 million worth of cocaine if there was nothing in it for them, as the risks were far too significant. He surmised this was a well-organised gang, but added: "This amount of drugs had the potential to cause immeasurable harm on the streets of Britain."
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He said Williams had played a significant part, being the captain of the boat, and didn't accept his claims he had been coerced, ultimately sentencing him to 26 years behind bars. Godfrey, he said, was also actively involved, knowing the details of the operation. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The judge said Kelly was in charge that day, and had committed offences of importation and supply of Class A drugs, but his guilty plea from the outset led to a reduced sentence from 29 years to 21. Although Marchant's involvement was only over one day, he must have been trusted enough by the other three to join them, and known what was being planned. He was sentenced to 18 years.
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said investigators had been working tirelessly to 'erode the criminal networks' which benefit from drug smuggling operations.
'The NCA and Border Force have prevented a huge haul of cocaine from hitting the streets of the UK and wider Europe, where it would have blighted countless lives and communities,' he said.
'We've disrupted a drug supply chain and ensured organised criminals are deprived of the significant profits they would have gained had these drugs made it into the country.'