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Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
Men jailed over boat chase cocaine plot
Four men have been jailed for conspiring to smuggle about £18m worth of cocaine into the UK after being chased by police in a boat off Cornwall. Scott Johnson, Terry Willis, Michael May and Edwin Tabora Baca were all sentenced at Truro Crown Court on Friday. Johnston and Tabora Baca were caught by police running away on a beach having disembarked from a boat laden with drugs after being chased for 28 miles, while May and Willis were arrested elsewhere on the Cornish coast waiting to transport the drugs. Judge James Adkin said the cocaine was destined for the streets of London and Essex and had the "potential for grave societal harm". He said: "This was an international conspiracy to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into the UK via a smuggling operation into the South West." Johnson, 37 from Havant in Hampshire was sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Willis, 44 from Chelmsford in Essex to 21 years and eight months. May, 47, from Kelveden Hatch in Essex received a sentence of 19 years, with Tabora Baca, 32, a Colombian from Honduras of no fixed abode getting 17 years and 7 months, and a deportation order. Three other men Alex Fowlie, 35, from Chichester in Sussex, Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood, Essex and Peter Williams, 43, from Havant will be sentenced at a later date. More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall The court heard a South American cargo ship had dumped 20 water-tight bales of cocaine into the sea, fitted with GPS tracking devices to help the gang find and retrieve them. The group had only been able to locate 11 of the bales, with Border Force recovering six of those - estimated to have a wholesale value of £10.2m. Three of the men had been pursued at sea for about an hour by officers before they attempted to run away after going aground on Gwynver Beach near Sennen on 13 September 2024. Police later tracked down other members of the group using CCTV and phone records. Barry Vinall, senior investigating officer with the National Crime Agency, said the investigation was "highly complex", but the the sentences sent a "clear message to anyone considering getting involved" in smuggling. He said witnesses who saw the boat and beach chase described it as like "something out of movie scene". "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." May and Johnston had denied the charge but were convicted after a trial at Truro Crown Court in June. The other men admitted conspiracy to import Class A drugs. Willis also admitted money laundering and possessing a revolver and live ammunition, which were found in a rucksack in his bedroom cupboard. The judge said two organised crime groups were involved - one in the South West to retrieve the drugs, and the other in Essex where the cocaine would have been cut and sold on to street dealers. Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ More on this story Two men guilty of cocaine smuggling plot into UK Total cocaine smuggling haul worth more than £10m Men jailed over £100m cocaine smuggling plot Related internet links Truro Crown Court
BBC News
01-08-2025
- BBC News
Men jailed over Cornwall boat chase cocaine plot
Four men have been jailed for conspiring to smuggle about £18m worth of cocaine into the UK after being chased by police in a boat off Johnson, Terry Willis, Michael May and Edwin Tabora Baca were all sentenced at Truro Crown Court on and Tabora Baca were caught by police running away on a beach having disembarked from a boat laden with drugs after being chased for 28 miles, while May and Willis were arrested elsewhere on the Cornish coast waiting to transport the James Adkin said the cocaine was destined for the streets of London and Essex and had the "potential for grave societal harm". He said: "This was an international conspiracy to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into the UK via a smuggling operation into the South West."Johnson, 37 from Havant in Hampshire was sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Willis, 44 from Chelmsford in Essex to 21 years and eight 47, from Kelveden Hatch in Essex received a sentence of 19 years, with Tabora Baca, 32, a Colombian from Honduras of no fixed abode getting 17 years and 7 months, and a deportation other men Alex Fowlie, 35, from Chichester in Sussex, Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood, Essex and Peter Williams, 43, from Havant will be sentenced at a later date. The court heard a South American cargo ship had dumped 20 water-tight bales of cocaine into the sea, fitted with GPS tracking devices to help the gang find and retrieve group had only been able to locate 11 of the bales, with Border Force recovering six of those - estimated to have a wholesale value of £ of the men had been pursued at sea for about an hour by officers before they attempted to run away after going aground on Gwynver Beach near Sennen on 13 September later tracked down other members of the group using CCTV and phone Vinall, senior investigating officer with the National Crime Agency, said the investigation was "highly complex", but the the sentences sent a "clear message to anyone considering getting involved" in said witnesses who saw the boat and beach chase described it as like "something out of movie scene"."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." May and Johnston had denied the charge but were convicted after a trial at Truro Crown Court in June. The other men admitted conspiracy to import Class A drugs. Willis also admitted money laundering and possessing a revolver and live ammunition, which were found in a rucksack in his bedroom judge said two organised crime groups were involved - one in the South West to retrieve the drugs, and the other in Essex where the cocaine would have been cut and sold on to street dealers.
Sunday World
23-06-2025
- Sunday World
Dramatic 45km sea chase in boat full of cocaine results in three arrests
The video shows the moment two speed boats carrying €21.5m of coke ran up on a beach before the men fled Three men who were caught with a boat full of cocaine following a 45km chase at sea have been convicted. Two Englishmen, Peter Williams (43), Scott Johnston (38) and Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca (33) with an address in Barcelona, Spain, were arrested by border patrol officers on September 13th 2024. Officers, who spotted their boat on the horizon while carrying out an operation off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, suspected the boat had drugs on board. It was suspected that the rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), had collected the drugs from a larger ship at sea. As authorities approached the boat, it sped off, resulting in a 28-mile chase, during which the crew were spotted throwing packages into the water. When the RHIB ran aground on Gwynver Beach, Penzance, the three men aboard attempted to flee on foot but were caught when Border Force officers pursued them. Some of the cocaine seized (Image: NCA) Six large bales containing 230kg of high-purity cocaine, worth €21.5m, were recovered from the sea Prosecutor Frederick Hookway previously told Truro Crown Court that images discovered on Edwin Tabora Baca's phone showed eleven bags of cocaine aboard the vessel, meaning at least 150kg of the drug was not recovered by authorities. The court also heard that the drugs were brought across the Atlantic on a cargo ship from South America, before being dumped into the sea in watertight bales. The drugs were fitted with GPS tracking for the smaller vessel to locate and recover the drugs. Four other men, who helped plan and organise the collection of the cocaine, have also been jailed. Alex Fowlie (35), Bobbie Pearce (29), Michael May (47) and Terry Willis (44) were identified as co-conspirators following a National Crime Agency investigation involving the processing of phone data and CCTV footage. Fowlie, of Chichester, purchased the boat, and officers uncovered audio messages on his phone detailing further plans to collect drugs at sea just days after the RHIB ran aground. In one message he advised a contact he could collect up to 'one tonne', claiming that there was 'zero f**king risk.' Pearce, May and Willis' roles included lying in wait on the Cornish coast on September 13th, where they expected the cocaine would be dropped off to them. The RHIB aground on Gwynver Beach, Penzance, All seven men initially denied any wrongdoing, with Tabora Baca even claiming to be a tourist who had accepted an invitation from the other two men on the boat to go fishing. Five of the men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class A drugs. Terry Willis also pleaded guilty to money laundering and possession of a firearm following the recovery of a revolver and ammunition at his home. Scott Johnston and Michael May pleaded not guilty, but were today found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs, following a two-week trial. The seven men are set to be sentenced for their roles in the plot 'The NCA leads the UK's fight to combat the illegal drugs trade, working with partners to protect the public,' NCA Senior Investigating Officer, Barry Vinall, said. 'This cocaine would have caused really significant harm had it made it onto the streets but thanks to vigilant and determined Border Force officers it will be the drugs that are destroyed, not lives. 'Together, the NCA and Border Force have ensured that seven pivotal drug importers face justice and that organised criminals won't make the millions in profit they expected to from this haul.' Duncan Capps, Senior Director of Border Force Maritime added: "It is the job of Border Force to protecting our border and keeping 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."
BBC News
23-06-2025
- BBC News
Two men found guilty of cocaine smuggling plot into Cornwall
Two men have been convicted of attempting to smuggle hundreds of kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of nearly £20m into the Johnston, 37, from Havant, Hampshire, and Michael May, 47, from Kelveden Hatch, Essex, were both found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs following a two-week trial.A judge at Truro Crown Court told them they both faced long jail other men have previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle the drugs into Cornwall. All seven are due to be sentenced in August. Prosecutor Frederick Hookway told the jury that the drugs were secreted aboard a cargo ship sailing from South America and then off loaded into the English Channel."On the way the drugs are off loaded into the sea." he said. "That may sound rather silly for a valuable commodity," he said, but he explained that black watertight bales of drugs were fitted with a GPS tracking device attached to air tag trackers so that they could be located by a second smaller boat to take to the Cornish Hookway said a Border Force boat spotted a fast-moving rigid inflatable boat (RIB) in the sea off Cornwall one morning in September last Border Force vessel deployed its own RIB to intercept the target RIB which had three men in court was told the target RIB sped off towards land, then dumped drug bales into the sea so the men on board would not be found in possession of their illegal cargo. The target boat landed at Gwyner Beach at Sennen and the men ran off in all directions but were arrested on the was one of three men on board the RIB and was also found to have £2,615 in cash on him, the court other two on the RIB previously admitted drugs-related Hookway said May was arrested in a van on the Cornish coast and was to transport the unloaded drugs. Mr Hookway said six bundles thrown into the sea were recovered that day and they contained 230 blocks of high purity cocaine, each weighing 1kg (2.2lb), and with a wholesale value of £6.2m, and a street value of £ Hookway said at least 150kg (330lb) of cocaine were not recovered from the did not give evidence and Johnston said he had no prior knowledge of the smuggling operation in the RIB and was not paid any money for going on the jury unanimously found the two men have been remanded in custody and all the conspirators are due to be sentenced on 1 August.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- BBC News
Cornwall drug smuggling accused 'not involved in trafficking'
A man accused of conspiring to smuggle millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK was not involved in trafficking drugs, a court has been Johnston, 38, of Havant, Hampshire, was arrested on Gwynver Beach at Sennen, Cornwall, last being part of a conspiracy to smuggle drugs with an estimated wholesale value of more than £10m, he told Truro Crown Court he used cocaine personally "a few times a year" but there was no truth in the allegations against trial continues. Mr Johnston was one of three men on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) which beached after jettisoning the bales of drugs into the sea as a National Crime Agency RIB tried to intercept court heard that, after he was taken into custody, he offered a one-line explanation to an interview, the 38-year-old said: "I just want to state that I had no involvement in any sort of trafficking in any kind of drug."He did not answer any other questions after his arrest following advice from his solicitor. 'No prior knowledge' The court heard that Mr Johnston had £2,615 in cash on him when he was said this was money left over after he bought some Musto clothing - a sailing and outdoor Johnston told the jury he had no prior knowledge of the purpose of the trip in the RIB and was not paid any money for going on added he personally uses cocaine a few times a year at festivals and Johnston is on trial with Michael May, 47, of Kelveden Hatch, Essex, who also denies a charge of conspiring to smuggle other men have admitted being involved in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.
