Three men have been charged after more than a tonne of cocaine worth £80m was recovered from a boat off the south coast of England, the National Crime Agency has said.

The seizure off Falmouth was part of a joint operation between the National Crime Agency and the Border Force. Photograph: SWNS.com

The Border Force has described the find as one of the most significant drug seizures made in the UK. The cocaine was found on Bianca, a UK-registered converted fishing trawler, on Thursday in British waters off Falmouth in Cornwall.

It was seized during a joint operation involving the agency and Border Force maritime command officers, who boarded the boat and found about 50 bags suspected of containing cocaine.

The owner and captain of the boat, Michael McDermott, 67, an Irish national, and his crew, Dutchman Gerald Van De Kooij, 26, and Briton David Pleasants, 57, appeared at Bodmin magistrates’ court on Saturday charged with importing cocaine.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/20/cocaine-worth-80m-found-on-boat-falmouth-cornish-coast

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-37141811

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/80m-of-cocaine-found-on-boat-off-cornwall-in-one-of-uk-s-biggest-ever-seizures/story-29638962-detail/story.html

0000000000000000000000000000000000000