Two charged over drug seizure valued in hundreds of millions

Maarten Pieterse, 59, and Emile Schoemaker, 44, were arrested last week when their boat was stopped 129 miles off the Cornish coast.

Working alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA) and European partners, Border Force officers escorted the boat to shore where they discovered it was packed with bales of cocaine wrapped in plastic bags.

An estimated two tonnes of the class A substance have already been recovered from the vessel and searches are still ongoing.

NCA head of investigations Andy Quinn said: “This is a huge haul of class A drugs, one of the largest seizures of class A ever in the UK, and with a potential street value likely to be in the hundreds of millions.

“The criminal trade in drugs is driven by financial gain, and the loss of the profit that would have been made from this seizure will be a major hit to the international criminal networks involved.

“While the end destination is unclear at this stage, I’ve no doubt that this was destined for the European market. At least a proportion of this cocaine would have ended up here in the UK, sold by drugs gangs who are also involved in intimidation, exploitation and violence.”

The Border Force Cutter HMC Vigilant intercepted the suspects’ boat on July 18 as part of an NCA-led operation involving the National Maritime Intelligence Centre and the Joint Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre.

The pair were then escorted to Newlyn harbour near Penzance, and the search began on July 19.

At one point on the following day the investigation was paused following the discovery of a suspicious package, but quickly resumed after being given the all-clear by a Navy EOD team.

Pieterse and Schoemaker appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Saturday (July 21) via video link.

Pieterse did not enter a plea while Schoemaker pleaded not guilty.

Both were remanded in custody and will appear at Bristol Crown Court on August 20.

Previous major class A seizures include the arrest of two Turkish men in 2015 linked to smuggling more than £500 million of cocaine.

So many bales were recovered from the ship docked in Aberdeen harbour that it took Border Force officers three days to remove them all.

Rod Lowson, head of Border Force’s protection squadron, said the seizure is “a testament to the multi-agency approach we take to secure the UK’s border and territorial waters”.

He added: “Working together, we will continue to do all we can to put the organised crime groups involved in drug smuggling behind bars.”