Eleven drug smugglers have been convicted over a plot to recover 500kg of cocaine from the sea after they nearly lost the lot when their GPS trackers failed.
The drugs were dropped into the water about 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, to the west of the Isle of Wight, by an accomplice crew aboard a container ship, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The drugs were in waterproof bundles, each fitted with a tracker.
A 49-years-old man had sailed from Portsmouth in the early hours of 17 August 2024 to collect the consignment which had a street value of £40m.
The plan was to see where the drugs were dumped and fish them out with two other men he was with – one who was acquitted at trial and another who cannot be named for legal reasons.
They would then return to shore in their rigid-hulled inflatable boat and the drugs moved to safety and sold to other crime groups across the country.
However, the plan started to unravel when the container ship sailed past their inflatable boat.
It got worse, as the GPS trackers had failed and were not sending a signal.
Several hours later he returned to shore empty handed and played no further part in the conspiracy.
However, the trackers came back online the following morning so the smugglers scrambled a new crew to locate the drugs.
The NCA said a 40-years-old man and two others recovered 16 bales of cocaine with a purity of about 85% and sailed to West Sussex, but police were waiting for them.
Seven members of the group admitted their roles and four more were convicted on July 22 at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Those convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine will be sentenced on November 5. Those convicted of assisting an organised crime group will be sentenced on November 6.
