Two men have admitted importing cocaine to the UK after they were intercepted on a yacht just off the coast of Wales. Gary Swift, 53, and Scott Kilgour, 41, were carrying £60 million of cocaine on the vessel that was travelling to the UK from South America.
The pair, both from Liverpool, were stopped in the early hours of August 27 on board the yacht after a Border Force cutter was dispatched. Their yacht was escorted into Fishguard port, where National Crime Agency officers and Border Force’s Deep Rummage team searched it. They found 751kg of cocaine with a purity of up to 83% that was destined for use across the UK.
Upon arrest, Swift told officers: ‘I just want to say that I am guilty. I have got something substantial on the boat and they will find it.’ He later admitted: ‘I’m the bad one here,’ and asked custody officers to pass a message to the NCA revealing the number of packages on board the yacht.
The yacht belonged to Kilgour, who bought it for 50,000 euros (£44,500) from a seller in Majorca, Spain. Swift and Kilgour pleaded guilty to importing Class A drugs when they appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday. They will be sentenced on December 20.
Craig Naylor, NCA Deputy Director of Investigations, said: ‘Seizing this large quantity of cocaine will have had a huge impact on the organised crime group – damaging their reputation amongst other criminals, and ultimately stripping them of their assets. ‘We believe Swift spearheaded this attempt to flood the streets of Britain with potentially deadly drugs – the NCA is relentless in pursuing and disrupting offenders who operate at the highest end of criminality. ‘This seizure will have also had a significant impact on the availability of cocaine in drug markets across the UK, including County Lines networks. ‘Drugs fuel violence and exploitation, damaging communities and leaving destruction in their wake. Thanks to the work of the NCA, Border Force officers, and the Spanish National Police, these drugs have not made their way to their intended destination. ‘NCA officers on the front line play a vital role in tackling the criminals who pay no heed to the damage they cause, and we’ll continue to work with our partners to make sure that crime doesn’t pay.’ Four others – three men aged 23, 31, 47, and a woman aged 30 – arrested in Liverpool and Loughborough in connection with the seizure remain on bail until November 2019.
Source: metro.co.uk
