Michael Kelly, 45, from Wythenshawe, claimed he was on a fishing trip with three other men. But Investigators from the NCA discovered 1,078 blocks of cocaine on the boat off the coast of Cornwall
Four men have been jailed after cops busted a fishing trip off a popular seaside coast – and found £100 million worth of drugs hidden on the boat.
Michael Kelly, 45, and Jake Marchant, 27, pleaded guilty to importing Class A drugs during a hearing at Truro Crown Court in October. Jon Williams, 46, and Patrick Godfrey, 31, both of Swansea, were convicted of the same charge.
Kelly claimed that they went on an innocent fishing trip in Cornwall last September. But when they were intercepted by a Border Force vessel off Newquay, officers found 1,078 blocks of cocaine. The gang has been sentenced to a total of 90 years in jail.
The fishing boat, called the Lily Lola, carried a strong scent of alcohol but searches revealed blocks and bales of drugs stashed all over the vessel which had only been bought by Williams a few months earlier for £116,000, according to Prosecutor, Frederick Hookway.
Brit drug smuggler who lived £75,000-a-week high life in Spanish villa and boasted about being ‘f***ing nuts’ is jailed
The court heard the men had sailed from Newquay to south of the Isles of Scilly where the drugs were dropped off for collection at night. Shortly after 2pm on that day, the Border Force cutter HMC Valiant was on patrol off the north coast of Cornwall and deployed a smaller boat to intercept the Lily Lola.
Williams, the captain, was at the helm, with Marchant next to him. Kelly was in the accommodation area and Godfrey was asleep in a deck chair, the NCA said. Mr Hookway said the blocks of cocaine, weighing one kilo each, were seized with 80 per cent purity and a wholesale value of £35 million. The court heard there had been police surveillance for a couple of months before the boat was stopped.
A device on board the boat was later downloaded and some messages were recovered, showing instructions and co-ordinates being sent from a third party. Godfrey’s phone was seized and found to have sent a message reading “delete everything u see and not show anybody”, as well as an internet search for “how long does it take a ship to leave Peru to UK?”.
Investigators from the NCA also discovered a tracker in the drugs haul, linked to a user in South America. The barrister for Williams said he was just a simple fisherman who pined to return to the sea. He said he became involved in the drug business after the loss of his father who had been “his strong rudder throughout his life” when he started using cocaine. He said he became indebted to a drug dealer to the tune of £30,000 which led to him being coerced and pressured into getting the Lily Lola drug boat.
He 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 for Marchant said he is a man who’s had a drugs addiction since the age of 13 and lacked maturity and just jumped at the opportunity to make quick money at a time when his life was in chaos.
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. 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.”
His Honour Judge James Adkin said no-one would ever get involved in the importation of £35m worth of cocaine if they didn’t have anything to gain as the risks are far too great. He said this was a well organised cocaine gang involved in the smuggling of cocaine into Cornwall. He said: “This amount of drugs had the potential to cause immeasurable harm on the streets of Britain.”
He said Williams had led a significant role in the operation being the skipper of the boat and didn’t accept his defence that he had been coerced. He received a 26-year sentence. Judge Adkin said Godfrey had also played a significant role in the operation and had been actively involved, and knowing the details of what was happening. Godfrey was sentenced to 25 years in jail.
He said Kelly had been the man in charge on the day and was a third striker for importation and supply of class A drugs however as he pleaded guilty at the outset he received a 30 per cent credit and his sentence was reduced from 29 years to 21.
Finally with regards to Marchant, Judge Adkin said that while his involvement was only over one day, he must have been known and trusted by the others to be asked to join them and therefore he must have known what it was about. He was jailed for 18 years.
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said: “The NCA works around the clock to fight the threat of Class A drugs which wreck people’s lives and devastate our communities.
“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.”
Williams was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Godfrey to 25 years in prison while Kelly received a 21-year prison sentence and Marchant an 18-year sentence.
