Three men have been jailed after they collected cocaine worth £26.5m from a ship off the Somerset coast, having claimed they were selling a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB).
Craig Nuttall, 51, and his brother Raymond Nuttall, 47, provided details of an RHIB, named “Guzzla”, after arriving at Watchet Marina in Somerset on 23 July this year.
They told the marina manager they had planned to stay in the area for a few days to fish.
When the Guzzla was searched by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers early on 31 July, it was found to have on board a large number of bale-sized packages containing cocaine of 89% purity. A firearm was also discovered.
The evening before, the Nuttalls were joined by Greek national Anestis Tsepa, 24, from Thessalonika, and 38-year-old Albanian national Melios Delvina.
Raymond Nuttall was seen to drive a van down the quayside before removing two jerry cans and a hose from the rear.
By 8.46pm on 30 July, Craig Nuttall, Tsepa and Delvina were in the RHIB wearing lifejackets and making their way out to sea.
What did audio messages show?
Audio messages, forming part of the NCA investigation, later found on Tsepa’s device, showed that they took the boat out to sea and were organising an at-sea drop-off.
A larger vessel is believed to have dropped illegal drugs into the sea and was set to be collected by a smaller boat.
In the messages, over the sound of the Guzzla’s engine, they can be heard discussing how long it would take their boat to arrive, clarifying which mother vessel they should follow, and stating that they were now ready, and waiting for that larger vessel to give a signal.
They returned to the marina at 1am on 31 July and began to try to connect the boat to a trailer that Raymond Nuttall had driven down the slipway.
However, NCA officers then stepped in and arrested the four men on suspicion of importation of Class A drugs.
What happened during NCA search?
When the boat was searched, it was found to contain packages that had been stored along the floor and between the seats. There were 14 packages in total, containing a further 322 smaller packages, each weighing a kilo.
The Nuttalls and Tsepa provided no comment responses to NCA officers in interview.
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Delvina gave a prepared statement saying he was unemployed and took work to unload items from a boat into a van with no knowledge of the drugs inside.
Defendants pleaded guilty
The Nuttalls pleaded guilty to importation of cocaine at Taunton Crown Court on 29 August, with Tsepa and Delvina admitting the same charges on 5 September.
Tsepa also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Raymond Nuttall and Craig Nuttall were sentenced to 11 years and three months, and 11 years and two months respectively, while Anestis Tsepa was given a 16-year jail term at the same court.
Melios Delvina is due to be sentenced on 11 December.
