Smugglers with £18.4m of cocaine led officers on 28-mile sea chase

THREE men who led police on a 28-mile chase at sea after their cocaine-laden boat was spotted have been found guilty of importing Class A drugs.

- by SHANNON BROWN [e-mail] @CornwallLive

Four other men have also been convicted in relation to the smuggling ring’s bid to bring 230kg of high-purity cocaine into Cornwall.

Three men were arrested after their rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) ran aground on Gwynver beach near Penzance on September 13, 2024.

Peter Williams, 43, and Scott Johnston, 38, both of Havant in Hampshire, and Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, 33, of Barcelona, were chased by Border Force officers who were on the coast at Newquay and saw their RHIB on the horizon.

Officers suspected the boat had picked up drugs from a larger ship at sea and tried to intercept the RHIB. As their vessel approached, however, the boat sped off and a chase ensued.

While the RHIB was trying to evade capture the crew were busy throwing packages into the water, said a spokesperson for the National Crime Agency (NCA).

When the boat ran aground the group of men ran off but were pursued on foot by Border Force officers and taken into custody. Six large bales recovered from the sea contained around 230kg of cocaine, worth around £18.4 million.