Men plead guilty to smuggling drugs worth £37m

Two men have pleaded guilty to smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK after they were caught with the drugs in a boat.

Bruce Knowles, 55, of Dereham, Norfolk, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 31, from the Netherlands, both appeared at Ipswich Crown Court earlier.

They had been charged with drugs offences after the National Crime Agency (NCA) seized cocaine worth £37m from an inflatable boat near Benacre Broad, Suffolk, on 24 June.

The defendants admitted to fraudulent evasion of a prohibition in relation to 350kg of cocaine, and Judge Emma Peters said they would both face a “significant sentence”.

The National Crime Agency seized millions of pounds of cocaine from a boat found off the coast south of Lowestoft

The rigid hulled inflatable boat had been intercepted by a Border Force cutter, after it failed to stop and a man was seen jumping from the vessel.

After eventually bringing the boat to a halt, NCA officers found the Class A drugs under a tarpaulin.

Investigators believe the boat had travelled out to sea where it had met a larger ship and collected the haul of illegal substances.

Knowles, who appeared in court via a video link, and Gumrukguoglu will now be remanded in custody until a basis of plea hearing on 17 September.

The sentencing date will be decided during a hearing due to be held on 1 November.

Some of the packages which were seized by the National Crime Agency after they were found on the boat

Speaking previously on the investigation, Paul Orchard, the NCA's operations manager, said: "This is a very significant seizure of cocaine and will be a huge loss for the organised crime group involved in smuggling it into the UK.

“With thanks to our partners in Border Force, we have been able to remove these dangerous drugs from the market before they reached the streets of the UK, where they would undoubtedly have fuelled further crime and exploitation.

“This seizure is a great example of joint working to disrupt criminal activity and protect the public from serious and organised crime.

“Our investigation into this importation continues.”