Four men charged after one tonne of cocaine found on fishing boat

Four men have been charged after a fishing boat carrying approximately one tonne of cocaine was intercepted off the Cornish coast, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

NCA officers seized the drugs after the boat was stopped at sea near Newquay on Friday afternoon, in what the force described as a “huge loss” for an organised crime group.

Michael Kelly, 45, of Portway, Manchester; Jon Paul Williams, 46, of St Thomas, Swansea; Patrick Godfrey, 30, of Port Tennant, Swansea; and Jake Marchant, 26, of no fixed address, were all charged with importing a controlled class A drug.

They have been remanded in custody to appear at at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Images supplied by the NCA show 17 brick-shaped packages in brown wrapping and two in dark wrapping, most with the label “pezx”.

The force also released a photograph of a blue and white boat, named Lily Lola.

Photo issued by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of a fishing boat carrying approximately one tonne of cocaine / Credit: PA

Derek Evans, NCA branch commander, said: “This is a significant amount of cocaine that will represent a huge loss for the organised crime group that attempted to import it into the UK.

“With our partners at Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, we have successfully removed this harmful drug consignment from the criminal marketplace.

“Its onward supply would have fuelled exploitation through county lines activity as well as serious violence and knife crime.

“Our investigation into this importation continues.”