Two Scottish veterans used their military training to plan a sophisticated £34million cocaine pick-up in the English Channel and smuggle 425kg worth of drugs into the UK.
Alan John Colquhoun, 49, and William Donohoe, 38, used their military knowledge from serving in the British Army to plan an audacious drugs smuggle with three other men.
They planned to use a fishing boat as a cover to smuggle the millions of pounds worth of drugs ashore at the Sovereign Harbour, near Eastbourne.
The massive shipment of cocaine was dropped into the water attached to a GPS tracker for the gang to recover.
But before they could, police raided the boat when they arrived back in UK shores with the drugs on board the small fishing boat, in a dramatic arrest in June this year.
Police bodycam footage caught the moment one man was found hiding in a cupboard in the little New Horizon fishing boat and was hauled out by a National Crime Agency (NCA) police officer, who had a Taser ready.
Two Scottish veterans planned to use a fishing boat as a cover to smuggle the millions of pounds worth of drugs ashore at the Sovereign Harbour, near Eastbourne
Alan John Colquhoun, 49,used their military knowledge from serving in the British Army to plan an audacious drugs smuggle with three other men
William Donohoe, 38, planned a sophisticated £34million cocaine pick-up in the English Channel
All five men admitted their part in the drug smuggling conspiracy after officers swooped the boat, and the two former soldiers were both jailed for 16 years each.
Alan John Colquhoun, 49, of Oberon, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, William Donohoe, 38, of Sycamore Drive, Craigneuk, Airdrie, Ian Smith, 50, of New College Close, Eastbourne, East Sussex, Jacob Cronin, 31, of Elgar Way, Eastbourne, East Sussex and Daniel Ruffell, 36, of Humber Way, Slough, Berkshire were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court in Hove.
The court heard how Colquhoun and Donohoe had both served in the British army, with His Honour Judge Jeremy Gold KC telling jurors that the sophisticated operation was planned by the two former soldiers.
The Judge said: ‘This was a sophisticated operation to smuggle drugs into the UK. I’ve been told the street value of the drugs would have been £34million.’
The judge said both soldiers travelled to Sussex in May to begin planning the at-sea pick-up.
‘You both have military background and would have been well equipped to organise the operation,’ the judge said.
Colquhoun and Donohoe were jailed for 16 years each. Smith, who acted as skipper of the New Horizon, was jailed for 12 years.
Jurors heard that financial hardship had forced fisherman Cronin into joining the smuggling operation, and he was jailed for six years and eight months.
Jacob Cronin, 31, received six years and eight months
Skipper Ian Smith, 50, was jailed for 12 years
Lookout Daniel Ruffell, 36, was jailed for eight years
Ruffell, who was acting as the lookout, was jailed for eight years.
The court heard how father-of-two Colquhoun and Donohoe were chosen to organise the pick-up for their military skills.
The court heard that both men struggled with their mental health since leaving the military. Colquhoun served in Bosnia while Donohoe saw combat in Afghanistan.
The court heard that the pair were to be paid £80,000 for the job.
The men carried out a reconnaissance mission with skipper Smith before going back to Scotland in preparation for the ambitious smuggle.
They drove a rented van to Sussex which would have been used to transport the drugs from the harbour, with Smith acting as the skipper of the New Horizon.
Cronin was hired to work on the boat and Ruffell was working as a lookout to repay his drugs debt.
Officers from the National Crime Agency swarmed the New Horizon boat at the Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne on June 8 and search teams boarded the boat near Fisherman’s Wharf.
Officers from the National Crime Agency swarmed the New Horizon boat at the Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne on June 8 and search teams boarded the boat near Fisherman’s Wharf
The gang were receiving instructions from a larger organised crime group, the court heard
The gang needed a forklift to load the massive quantity of drugs into a rented van, with a resident living at the harbour describing the scene as ‘something out of a police drama’.
An eyewitness also said they saw officers putting what looked like a shrimp catch into boxes.
The gang were receiving instructions from a larger organised crime group, the court heard.
Their handlers called themselves Navigate and Bruce Wayne – the real name of superhero Batman.
Hugh French for the Crown told the sentencing hearing that the former soldiers were working for an organised crime group with international reach.
‘The drugs were deposited in the sea with transponder. On June 8, they were picked up from the sea and the vessel returns to harbour.’
The men unloaded the drugs from the boat onto a flat bed truck using a forklift.
‘Officers from the NCA moved in and arrested all five on suspicion of importing Class A drugs.
‘Ruffell was found hiding in a cupboard on board. Donohoe was located at a petrol station and was arrested.’
The 425kg of cocaine was found in blue plastic containers.
‘Donohoue had a leading role in the conspiracy,’ Mr French said.
Carl Barrass, NCA senior investigating officer, said: ‘The recovery of this quantity of cocaine represents a significant loss to the organised crime group behind its importation and will impact its ability to continue operating.
‘Combating the threat of Class A drugs is a priority for the NCA and we will continue to work with partners at home and abroad to protect the public.’
HHJ Gold told the men they would serve between a third and two thirds of their sentences in prison before they are eligible for release.
