Bodycam footage has captured the moment armed National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested a cocaine smuggler who was hiding in a kitchen cupboard on a fishing boat at Eastbourne Marina in June. The raid on the New Horizon vessel led to the recovery of 425kg of cocaine worth £34m.
Five smugglers jailed after Hove Crown Court hearing
Alan Colquhoun, 49, from Alloa, and William Donohoe, 38, from Airdrie, were among five smugglers arrested during the operation. They were jailed alongside Ian Smith, 50, and Jacob Cronin, 32, both of East Sussex, and Daniel Ruffell, of Berkshire, at Hove Crown Court on Friday, October 23.
Colquhoun and Donohoe received 16-year sentences, reduced from 24 years due to their early guilty pleas. The footage from the bust showed Ruffell hiding in a cupboard as armed NCA officers stormed the boat.
Officers find hidden suspect during search
In the clip, two NCA officers board the vessel before conducting searches. When they opened a kitchen cupboard door, they discovered Ruffell inside. One officer, pointing a firearm in his direction, shouted: "Walk towards me, now. Show me your hands, get out and get down on the floor - do it now."
Ruffell was then handcuffed as he lay on the deck. A female officer shouted: "Is there anyone else in there?" Ruffell replied: "No."
Ringleaders directed smuggling operation
The court heard Colquhoun and Donohoe were the ringleaders of the group. They directed the other men and liaised with the crime group that trafficked the drugs from abroad. The duo carried out reconnaissance along the south coast and plotted where to bring the drugs ashore. They hired a van in Scotland, claiming it would be used to move pub stock, before driving south to transport the cocaine.
They recruited New Horizon skipper and fisherman Ian Smith to sail out and locate the illegal haul. Smith was joined on the boat by Cronin and Ruffell, while Donohoe remained on dry land but was arrested at a petrol station.
Ruffell, who acted as the organised crime group's lookout, owed them a significant debt and joined the crew to help pay it off. Cronin, a fisherman by trade, helped prepare the New Horizon before it set sail.
Sentences handed down for smuggling roles
Ruffell, who has 21 convictions for 43 previous offences, was sentenced to eight years, reduced from 12 for admitting his guilt. Cronin received six years and eight months, reduced from 10 years for his early guilty plea. Smith was sentenced to 12 years, reduced from 18 for his guilty plea.
Carl Barrass, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: "Colquhoun and Donohoe acted for a crime group with international reach and were crucial logistics men moving very large amounts of Class A drugs into the UK.
"The NCA investigation has not only taken out these five men who are now toxic to fellow criminals, but has removed nearly half a tonne of cocaine whose profits are lost to the OCG.
"Tackling the Class A drugs threat is a priority for the NCA and we will keep working with partners at home and abroad to keep these vile substances out of our communities where they cause huge damage."
Shilpa Chauhan, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a highly sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle millions of pounds worth of class A drugs into the UK. Importations on this scale cause immense harm to our communities, feeding addiction and funding further organised crime.
"The sentences handed down reflect the serious roles each of these defendants played, from those who organised and directed the conspiracy, to those who carried out its logistics on the ground. The CPS worked closely with the National Crime Agency to build a strong case, and we are pleased to have secured guilty pleas from all defendants.
"We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those involved in organised drug trafficking."
