Cork cocaine: Four men charged over £100m drugs
seizure
The Irish naval vessel - the LÉ Niamh, sails alongside the detained yacht Makayabella during the operation that took place about 300 miles off the south west coast of Ireland
The 47-year-old was arrested on Thursday, during an NCA follow-up operation in West Yorkshire.
He was charged by NCA investigators on Friday night and is expected to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning.
The seizure is believed to be one of the largest drug finds at sea in Europe this year.
The accused are 70-year-old John Powell, with an address at Silsden, West Yorkshire, 28-year-old Thomas Britteon, from Bradford, and Benjamin Mellor, 34, from north east Lincolnshire. All three face a single charge of trafficking of cocaine on a ship at sea with intent to import the drug.
The yacht they were travelling on, called Makayabella, was intercepted about 200 - 300 miles west/south-west of Mizen Head during the early hours of Tuesday.
Their vessel had been under "covert surveillance" by the Irish navy, who carried out a joint arrest operation with the Irish Revenue Customs Service and police (An Garda Síochána).
Members of the Irish navy stand guard over more than a tonne of cocaine seized from a yacht off the coast of County Cork on Tuesday
The Irish authorities were on acting on intelligence provided by the British NCA and the French customs service DNRED. In a follow-up operation in West Yorkshire over the past three days, NCA investigators arrested two other British men, bringing the total number of people detained in the international operation to five.
A 43-year-old man who was arrested on Wednesday has since been released on bail, pending further inquiries. The 47-year-old man, who has now been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, was detained on Thursday.
At Cork City Court on Friday evening, all three defendants were remanded in custody until Thursday 2 October, when they are due to appear again via video link
The Irish naval vessel - the LÉ Niamh, sails alongside the detained yacht Makayabella during the operation that took place about 300 miles off the south west coast of Ireland
Four British men have been charged
with drugs offences after the seizure of more than a tonne of cocaine off the
Irish coast on Tuesday. The drugs haul has an estimated street value of more than £100m. It was seized when the Irish Navy intercepted a yacht off the Cork coast. Three men arrested on board have
been charged with drug trafficking in Cork. A fourth man in the UK has been charged with conspiracy to import
cocaine.
The 47-year-old was arrested on Thursday, during an NCA follow-up operation in West Yorkshire.
He was charged by NCA investigators on Friday night and is expected to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning.
The seizure is believed to be one of the largest drug finds at sea in Europe this year.
The accused are 70-year-old John Powell, with an address at Silsden, West Yorkshire, 28-year-old Thomas Britteon, from Bradford, and Benjamin Mellor, 34, from north east Lincolnshire. All three face a single charge of trafficking of cocaine on a ship at sea with intent to import the drug.
The yacht they were travelling on, called Makayabella, was intercepted about 200 - 300 miles west/south-west of Mizen Head during the early hours of Tuesday.
Their vessel had been under "covert surveillance" by the Irish navy, who carried out a joint arrest operation with the Irish Revenue Customs Service and police (An Garda Síochána).
Members of the Irish navy stand guard over more than a tonne of cocaine seized from a yacht off the coast of County Cork on Tuesday
The Irish authorities were on acting on intelligence provided by the British NCA and the French customs service DNRED. In a follow-up operation in West Yorkshire over the past three days, NCA investigators arrested two other British men, bringing the total number of people detained in the international operation to five.
A 43-year-old man who was arrested on Wednesday has since been released on bail, pending further inquiries. The 47-year-old man, who has now been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, was detained on Thursday.
At Cork City Court on Friday evening, all three defendants were remanded in custody until Thursday 2 October, when they are due to appear again via video link
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