Scot convicted for part in plot to smuggle £40m of cocaine dropped into sea

A man from Aberdeenshire has been convicted alongside ten others over a plot to smuggle £40m of cocaine in the UK.

The group nearly lost 500kg of cocaine, which had been dropped into international waters by an accomplice crew aboard a container ship, after their GPS trackers failed.

David Paterson, from Peterhead, sailed out from Haslar Marina in Portsmouth in the early hours of August 17, 2024, to collect the consignment.

It is believed the drugs were dropped into the water about 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, to the west of the Isle of Wight.

The drugs were in waterproof bundles, each fitted with a tracker.

The plan was for Paterson, 49, to see where the drugs were dumped and fish them out with two other men he was with – one who was acquitted at trial and another who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They would then return to shore in their rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) – the ‘Amma Sigga’ – and the drugs moved to safety and sold to other crime groups across the country.

But the container ship sailed past Paterson, who was taking directions via WhatsApp from OCG accomplice Lewis Watts, 37, who was ashore.

Paterson was instructed: “Big ship has passed you, flash lights”.

Increasingly desperate, Watts added: “Big ship has passed you, chase it and flash lights.”

The container ship sailed on, leaving Paterson to locate the drugs from the trackers – but the trackers had failed and were not sending a signal.

Several hours later, Paterson, whose day job was on an oil rig in Scotland, returned to shore empty-handed and played no further part in the conspiracy.

Some time in the morning of August 18, the trackers came back online, and the OCG scrambled a new crew to locate the Class A drugs.

The following day, Adil Nolan, 40, left Eastbourne Harbour in the Amma Sigga to finally retrieve the drugs. He was with a man who cannot be named for legal reasons and an unnamed third man.

The trio recovered 16 bales of cocaine with a purity of about 85% and sailed the RHIB to Medmerry Beach near Selsey in West Sussex, where law enforcement officers were waiting for them.

Seven members of the OCG previously admitted their roles.

A jury at Portsmouth Crown Court convicted three other men and one woman on Wednesday.

David Paterson, of Peterhead near Aberdeen, was convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine by the jury.

The OCG bosses were Daniel Jamieson, 41, and Sam Brown, 33.

Jamieson, of Essex, masqueraded as a legitimate businessman and, using a false name, bought a maritime business so he could get hold of an RHIB to recover the drugs with. He was convicted at trial of conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

Brown, who lived in Kirkdale, Liverpool, during the conspiracy period, admitted the same charge. He played a key role in recruiting others. He enlisted the help of his friend Harry Kennedy.

Kennedy, 38, lived on the same street in Liverpool as Brown. He became involved in the plot on August 18 when Brown realised the GPS trackers were working, and he asked Kennedy to help move the cocaine once ashore.

Messages between the pair recovered during the investigation showed the two men were also involved in the supply of drugs, separate from this investigation. Kennedy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Lewis Watts, of Essex, was Jamieson’s right-hand man and instrumental to the conspiracy. He took charge of a prepaid credit card that was set up to fund the conspiracy.

He sourced locations for the RHIB to land, researched and purchased equipment, assisted in the boat’s set-up and acted as a go-between for conspirators in real life and online. He was convicted at trial of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Adil Nolan, of Fazakerley, Liverpool, was a close associate of Kennedy and skippered the Amma Sigga when it retrieved the cocaine from the sea. He admitted conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

Charlotte Blenman, 34, of Boscombe, Bournemouth, was one of five people identified as being part of the landing party on Medmerry Beach. Their job was to help take the drugs from the beach.

She was cleared of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine but convicted of assisting an organised crime group.

The other landing party criminals were: Roy Harmer, 46, of Bournemouth; Neil Pinchbeck, 43, of Poole; Thomas Stewart, 40, of Peterborough; Ricky Platt, 49, of Boscombe, Dorset. All four men admitted assisting an organised crime group.

Those convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine will be sentenced on November 5. Those convicted of assisting an organised crime group will be sentenced on November 6.

Jules Harriman, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “This was a large seizure of cocaine and represents a serious loss for the crime group.

“Their profits can no longer be ploughed back into further offending and we’ve prevented these toxic drugs from reaching UK streets where they poison people’s lives.

“Working with partners such as Border Force, the NCA will continue to do all it can to protect the public from the threat of Class A drugs.”