Angler finds cocaine packages floating near Isle of Wight

Ron Rapp was out on his fishing boat when he spotted seagulls near some floating packages on Sunday

A sea angler has described finding floating packages of cocaine off the Isle of Wight.

Ron Rapp was on his fishing boat with his family near The Needles on Sunday when he spotted the three bundles.

Aware police were searching - after holdalls filled with drugs were found off Purbeck in Dorset and on an Isle of Wight beach - he called the coastguard.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said although it believed all packages had been recovered, more could pop up.

Mr Rapp came across a suspicious set of packages floating in the sea on Sunday

Mr Rapp said they waited by the floating drugs until officers arrived in a police boat to remove them from the sea.

He said: "We went round the Needles to anchor and saw some seagulls. They were sitting on something that looked like some sort of float, but our suspicions were drawn.

"We found three packages tied to two cannisters - one green and one blue - floating in the water.

"An hour later a police boat attended with blue flashing lights, which was kind of novel for us, and they called it in and confirmed our suspicions.

"Then we actually managed to catch some fish so it wasn't a bad day, but our biggest haul of the day was probably £1m of drugs."

Search teams were sent to St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight on Saturday afternoon

Mr Rapp said the parcels were "definitely waterproofed" and wrapped in bubble wrap.

The NCA previously confirmed the drugs were believed to have been transported from South America on a merchant ship.

In a statement, the agency said: "Initial testing indicates the substance recovered as cocaine.

"At this time we believe we have recovered all the suspected drugs but the investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement remain vigilant to the possibility that further packages could be recovered."

It said the purity and quantity involved was still being established.

Packages of suspected illegal drugs were also recently found at St Aldhelm's Point and Durdle Door in Dorset

Hundreds of kilos of the illegal drug were first found in the sea off St Aldhelm's Point and Durdle Door in Dorset on 2 October by a fisherman.

A second batch was found on a beach by litter-pickers on the west coast of the Isle of Wight on Saturday.

Police had been trying to contact one of the group, a man in his 60s.

The litter picker sought had "engaged with law enforcement" and was not subject to any investigation, the NCA said.

The NCA has urged anybody who finds a holdall or similar package on the coastline of Dorset, Hampshire or the island to call 999.

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