Smugglers hurled packages into sea before crashing on Cornish sand as officers gave foot chase and caught fleeing criminals
A high-speed boat packed with £18million worth of cocaine smashed into a Cornwall beach after a heart-stopping 28-mile chase at sea with ‘Britain’s FBI’.
Border Force officers spotted the Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) on the horizon during a patrol operation off the coast of Newquay last September — and immediately suspected it was loaded with drugs.
When officers tried to intercept the suspicious vessel, the smugglers hit the throttle and sped off, sparking a dramatic pursuit across the waves.
Desperate bid to ditch evidence
As Border Force gave chase across the choppy waters, the three men aboard the drug boat desperately hurled packages overboard in a frantic attempt to destroy the evidence.
But their plan was doomed — the high-speed pursuit ended when the RHIB crashed onto Gwynver Beach near Penzance, with the smugglers leaping from the vessel and making a run for it across the sand.
In scenes more befitting an action movie, Border Force officers gave chase on foot and managed to collar all three fleeing criminals.
£18million haul recovered
Six large containers containing around 230kg of ‘high-purity cocaine’ were recovered from the ocean where the panicked smugglers had thrown them.
The massive haul would have flooded Britain’s streets with misery — but instead ended up in evidence bags thanks to the quick-thinking officers.
Peter Williams, 43, Scott Johnston, 38, and Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, 33, have now been convicted of importing Class A drugs following the botched smuggling operation.
Criminal network exposed
The investigation was handed over to National Crime Agency officers — dubbed ‘Britain’s FBI’ — who launched a painstaking probe into the smuggling network.
NCA detectives trawled through CCTV footage, analysed call data and pored over phone messages to uncover the full extent of the operation.
Their investigation exposed a wider criminal network, leading to the conviction of four more men who helped plan and organise the cocaine collection.
The organisers caught
The NCA identified that Alex Fowlie, 35, Bobbie Pearce, 29, Michael May, 47, and Terry Willis, 44, all played crucial roles in orchestrating the cocaine pick-up.
Their carefully laid plans came crashing down — quite literally — on that Cornish beach.
‘Vigilant and determined’
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Barry Vinall said: “The NCA leads the UK’s fight to combat the illegal drugs trade, working with partners to protect the public.
“This cocaine would have caused really significant harm had it made it onto the streets but thanks to vigilant and determined Border Force officers it will be the drugs that are destroyed, not lives.
Together, the NCA and Border Force have ensured that seven pivotal drug importers face justice and that organised criminals won’t make the millions in profit they expected to from this haul.
Beach drama
The dramatic scenes at Gwynver Beach — a stunning stretch of white sand normally popular with surfers and families — shocked locals and holidaymakers.
The remote beach, located about 9 miles from Penzance near Land’s End, became the unlikely setting for one of Britain’s biggest drug busts.
Witnesses would have seen the extraordinary sight of the drug boat crashing through the waves before beaching on the sand, followed by the desperate foot chase as officers pursued the fleeing smugglers.
Justice served
All seven men now face lengthy prison sentences after being convicted of their roles in the failed smuggling operation.
Their dreams of making millions from flooding Britain with cocaine ended not with champagne and riches, but with handcuffs and jail cells.
The dramatic chase and capture serve as a stark warning to other criminal gangs that Britain’s borders are being fiercely protected by dedicated officers willing to pursue smugglers across land and sea.
