Gang jailed for cannabis yacht plot

FOUR members of an organised crime group, who conspired to import cannabis on a yacht into the UK through Cornwall, have been jailed following a National Crime Agency investigation.

The men used encrypted comms platform Encro Chat to plan the importation of the Class B drug from Morocco, between February 29 and June 1, 2020.

Cash totalling more than £25,000 was recovered, as well as four cannabis plants and six cannabis seedlings from Challis’s home. Led by Rupert Kelly, 29, from Broad windsor, Dorset, the crime group conspired to use a yacht and a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) to offload the drugs in Cornwall for distribution across the UK.

Investigators found that Daniel Parrot, 48, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, was responsible for purchasing fuel drums, which would be used as cover to transport the cannabis on the RHIB.

Gavin Challis, 46, from

Nazeing, Essex, was to arrange the purchase of the cannabis for supply in the UK, while Jason Tongue, 47, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, was due to meet the RHIB when it landed in the UK.

At Bristol Crown Court on Thursday, Kelly was sentenced to five years and six months, Parrot three years and six months, Challis three years, and Tongue 18 months.

James Le Grys, Crown Advocate for CPS South West, said: “Disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups remains a priority for the CPS. These defendants had an advanced plan to import a huge quantity of cannabis into the UK. Their plan was interrupted by the pandemic, but with support from the NCA and international partners, we were able to build a strong case to expose their criminality.”