Latest news with #JointMaritimeSecurityCentre
ITV News
19-05-2025
- ITV News
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."
Sunday World
09-05-2025
- Sunday World
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.'
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Navy tracks Russian warships through UK waters
Royal Navy ships based in Plymouth and Portsmouth were deployed to track Russian warships through British waters this week, a navy spokesperson has said. Plymouth-based HMS St Albans, a Type-23 frigate, monitored the Admiral Golovoko as it sailed east through the English Channel and launched a Merlin helicopter to gather information from the air. Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Mersey tracked RFN Soobrazitelny as it sailed west. HMS Alban's commanding officer, Cdr Matt Teare, said the "regularity of Russian activity around the United Kingdom reinforces the vital importance of continuous integration with our allies and partners". HMS Albans was also involved in a three-day operation to monitor the Russian Steregushchiy-class corvette Stoikiy earlier this month, the navy said. Cdr Teare said the frigate "is at very high readiness to operate whenever, and wherever, the nation needs us in the protection of our home and the waters surrounding it". He added he was "extremely proud" of his crew's professionalism and "tireless dedication to keeping our nation safe". Meanwhile, Portsmouth-based patrol HMS Mersey tracked RFN Soobrazitelny as the corvette sailed west, supported by Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidesurge. Russian tanker Kola was also monitored heading in the same direction in a coordinated effort with the Joint Maritime Security Centre. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Royal Navy frigates to be based in Portsmouth Russian warship tracked for five days off UK coast Russian warship tracked near British waters Royal Navy
BBC News
26-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Royal Navy tracks Russian warships through UK waters
Royal Navy ships based in Plymouth and Portsmouth were deployed to track Russian warships through British waters this week, a navy spokesperson has HMS St Albans, a Type-23 frigate, monitored the Admiral Golovoko as it sailed east through the English Channel and launched a Merlin helicopter to gather information from the patrol ship HMS Mersey tracked RFN Soobrazitelny as it sailed Alban's commanding officer, Cdr Matt Teare, said the "regularity of Russian activity around the United Kingdom reinforces the vital importance of continuous integration with our allies and partners". 'Tireless dedication' HMS Albans was also involved in a three-day operation to monitor the Russian Steregushchiy-class corvette Stoikiy earlier this month, the navy Teare said the frigate "is at very high readiness to operate whenever, and wherever, the nation needs us in the protection of our home and the waters surrounding it".He added he was "extremely proud" of his crew's professionalism and "tireless dedication to keeping our nation safe".Meanwhile, Portsmouth-based patrol HMS Mersey tracked RFN Soobrazitelny as the corvette sailed west, supported by Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA tanker Kola was also monitored heading in the same direction in a coordinated effort with the Joint Maritime Security Centre.
