Man, 24, admits conspiring to import cocaine worth £40m

A man has admitted conspiring to avoid the ban on importing Class A drugs after £40m worth of cocaine was found in a vehicle in a village pub car park in East Yorkshire.

Two other men will stand trial in October accused of the same offence, and also of conspiring to supply cocaine.

Three men from Argyll and Bute – Anthony McAllister, 33, of Aldersyde, Taynuilt; Daniel Livingstone, 24, of Calton Avenue, Campbeltown; and Mark Moran, 22, of Glenfyne Terrace, Ardrishaig – and Didier Javier Tordecilla Reyes, a Colombian national of no fixed abode, were arrested on May 4.

The National Crime Agency said the arrests were in connection with the discovery of about 500kg of cocaine with a potential street value of around £40m which was found in the back of a van in a car park in Lelley.

The three Scottish men faced two charges when they appeared at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday while the Colombian man has not yet been arraigned as he is in the process of applying to change his solicitor.

Livingstone pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to “evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled group of Class A (drugs) namely a quantity of cocaine” between March 1 and May 4 this year.

He pleaded not guilty to a second charge of conspiring “together with others unknown to supply drugs of Class A, namely cocaine to persons unknown” on or before May 4, 2024.

The court heard that both pleas were accepted by the Crown and he will not stand trial on the second charge.

McAllister and Moran pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Judge Anthony Dunne set a trial date for October 21.

The court heard that Livingstone will be sentenced once the trial of Moran and McAllister has finished and the men were remanded in custody.

A hearing will take place next week in relation to the application by Reyes to change solicitor.