Men accused of drug smuggling remanded in custody

A person with a blurred face picks up brown packages about the size of a brick, and puts them into a clear plastic bag, while standing on the deck of a boatImage source, National Crime Agency
Image caption,

More than 1,250kg of cocaine was recovered from the Lily Lola

  • Published

Four men accused of trying to smuggle £200m worth of cocaine into the UK have been remanded in custody.

Jon Paul Williams, 46, of St Thomas, Swansea, Michael Kelly, 45, of Portway, Manchester, Patrick Godfrey, 30, of Port Tennant, Swansea and Jake Marchant, 26, of no fixed address, have all been charged with conspiring in the importation of a controlled Class A drug.

They were arrested after the Lily Lola, a commercial fishing boat registered in Torbay, Devon, was seized on Friday off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall.

Appearing before Bodmin Magistrates Court the men were remanded until a hearing in Truro Crown Court on 15 October.

The men were told due to the nature of the offences they would receive a "substantial custodial sentence" if convicted.