Car park cocaine smugglers foiled twice, jury told

The cocaine was found in a van in a pub car park in Lelley, East Yorkshire

Two men have gone on trial charged with drugs offences after half a tonne (500kg) of cocaine was found in an East Yorkshire village pub car park.

The National Crime Agency said the drugs, which were found in a van at The Stags Head Inn in Lelley, near Hedon, on 4 May, had a potential street value of £40m.

They were believed to have been transferred from a ship sailing off the coast of Hull. Officials said an inflatable boat was found abandoned on rocks at Easington.

Mark Moran, 23, of Glenfyne Terrace, Ardrishaig, and Anthony McAllister, 33, of Aldersyde, Taynuilt, both deny charges of conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs.

Prosecutor Angus McDonald told Hull Crown Court on Tuesday that things had not gone to plan for the defendants before their arrest.

After buying a fishing boat for £40,000, the pair later abandoned it at Lowestoft, Suffolk, after it was searched by Border Force officials on 24 April, before the cocaine was collected.

Mr McDonald said the conspiracy was obviously lucrative enough for the defendants' to be able to take that decision.

In a second attempt, the men travelled to Hull and booked into a hotel before travelling to Dewsbury to buy a 4x4 vehicle with a tow bar, the court was told.

The drugs were believed to have been transferred from a ship off the coast at Easington, police said

On their return, they bought a second boat from a local business for £10,000 and drove it to Stone Creek on the Humber Estuary. They attempted to launch it shortly before 23:00 GMT on 26 April, Mr McDonald added.

Addressing the jury, the prosecutor questioned what legitimate purpose the men would have had for trying to set sail that late at night and in the dark.

He said that attempt also failed, due to low water levels.

The court also heard evidence of messages exchanged between the men, which Mr McDonald said proved they knew "full well what the plan was, and what they would be transporting".

The trial continues.

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