Boat skipper jailed after trying to smuggle £80m cocaine haul

A FISHING boat skipper who tried to smuggle more than £80m of cocaine into the UK has been jailed for 16 years.

The haul, weighing 939kg and up to 70 per cent pure, was the biggest single seizure of cocaine in the country last year.

Michael McDermott, 68, from Waterford, Ireland, was convicted of drug importation offences following a week-long trial at Bristol Crown Court.

His shipmates David Pleasants, 57, of Peppercorn Walk, Grimsby, and Gerald Van de Kooij, 27, of Amersfoort, Netherlands, previously admitted the offences.

All three were arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force officers on August 18 last year.

McDermott was jailed for 16 years, Pleasants for 14 years and de Kooij for 12 years, at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday.

Speaking after McDermott’s trial, Mark Harding, senior investigating officer from the NCA’s border investigation team, said: “This was a huge quantity of cocaine, the biggest single seizure made in the UK in 2016.

“Michael McDermott used his specialist skills as a sailor to attempt to evade border controls. We provided solid evidence that led to his conviction and have taken out another means of transport used by organised criminals to bring drugs to Britain.

“His was a crucial link in a chain that leads from cocaine manufacturers in South America to drug dealers in the UK.

“In stopping this consignment, we have prevented further criminality by the gangs who bring violence and exploitation to our streets.”

The Bianca was intercepted as it entered UK territorial waters off the coast of Cornwall and officers boarded, detaining the crew.

They found 38 bales of cocaine, each weighing between 25 and 30kg, hidden under bags of sand and gravel in the boat’s fish hold.

The cocaine was between 60 and 70 per cent pure and, if cut to street purity, would be worth almost £84 million when sold in the UK.

Investigators were able to establish that McDermott had bought the Bianca in Whitstable, Kent, for £17,000, paying in cash weeks before his arrest

He told the seller he planned to sail to Spain and use the vessel for diving and chartered angling trips.

The boat was taken to Ramsgate for work to be carried out on it before it set sail.

Navigation records show it sailed through the English Channel and out into the Atlantic before turning around and heading back towards Cornwall.

Investigators believe it was at the turnaround point, south of Ireland, that the Bianca took the cocaine on board from another vessel.

Mike Stepney, director national operations at Border Force said: “The huge haul of dangerous drugs that Michael McDermott and his crew sought to sneak into the UK had the potential to do untold harm to countless people around the country.

“Officers from Border Force and the NCA used sophisticated intelligence and technical expertise to track this vessel and intercept it before its illicit cargo could ever be unloaded.

“The prosecution of this crooked captain and his criminal crew underlines once again how our close work with partners like the NCA is successfully keeping communities in the UK safe from a range of threats.”

He used his specialist skills as a sailor to try and evade controls Mark Harding, NCA senior investigating officer