Twelve members of an organised crime group in the UK have been sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for trying to bring ashore 500kg of cocaine worth £40 million. The investigation was led by the National Crime Agency.
Sentences were handed down at Portsmouth Crown Court on 5 and 6 November. On 19 August 2024, NCA officers waited for the group at Medmerry Beach near Selsey, West Sussex, where members brought ashore 16 bales of cocaine recovered from the sea. The drug had a purity of about 85%.
Investigators believe accomplices aboard a container ship dropped the drugs into the water a few days earlier, about 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, west of the Isle of Wight. The cocaine was packed in waterproof bundles fitted with GPS trackers.
Group leaders Daniel Jamieson, 41, and Sam Brown, 33, were sentenced to 22 years and 16 years and six months respectively. Harry Kennedy received nine years, Carl Powner 13 years, Adil Nolan 11 years and three months, while David Paterson and Lewis Watts were each jailed for 14 years.
Five members of the landing party were convicted of assisting an organised crime group. Charlotte Blenman received a 20-month suspended sentence, suspended for two years; the other four were each jailed for 20 months.
NCA senior investigating officer Jules Harriman said the drugs could have brought harm and violence to communities around the country if the smuggling attempt had succeeded. The agency thanked Merseyside, West Mercia, Hampshire and Sussex police for their assistance.
