Drug boat gang sentenced to total of 90 years in jail

FOUR men convicted of attempting to smuggle £35 million worth of cocaine on a fishing boat off the coast of Cornwall, have been sentenced to a total of 90 years in jail.

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Michael Kelly, 45, from Portway, Manchester, and Jake Marchant, 27, of no fixed address, admitted importing Class A drugs during a hearing at Truro Crown Court in October. Kelly had claimed he was on a fishing trip.

Two others, Jon Williams, 46, and Patrick Godfrey, 31, both of Swansea, were convicted of the charge after a trial at the same court, on March 12.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said 1,076kg of high purity cocaine was found on the fishing boat Lily Lola on September 13 last year in blocks of 1kg and large bales. The NCA said the drugs were worth £35m at wholesale but had a street value closer to £100m.