Cocaine smugglers 'thought it was tobacco' - court

Two men accused of being part of a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine with a street value of more than £40m believed it was tobacco, a court has heard.

Half a tonne (500kg) of cocaine was found in a van at The Stags Head Inn in Lelley, near Hedon, East Yorkshire, on 4 May.

Mark Moran, 23, of Glenfyne Terrace, Ardrishaig, and Anthony McAllister, 33, of Aldersyde, Taynuilt, both deny charges of conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs.

The jury in their trial at Hull Crown Court has retired to consider its verdict.

The trial was previously told both men had admitted their part in collecting the consignment from an arranged drop-off point in the North Sea, but denied knowing it was cocaine, which had been shipped from Colombia.

"They were like a mushroom - kept in the dark – only told what they needed to know," Mr Moran's defence barrister, Derek Duffy, told the court.

"If you are a Colombian drug dealer and you want to get drugs into the UK – perhaps getting the drugs out of the country is not that difficult – the risk starts when others become involved and know what is going on," he said.

He told the court his client was only ever given information about the operation at the last minute to avoid the risk of other criminal gangs getting their hands on the cocaine.

The court also heard the operation had incurred substantial costs, including the purchase of a £40,000 boat, which was later left at Lowestoft, Suffolk, after it was searched by Border Force officials on 25 April, before any contraband was collected.

Mr McAllister, who had been hired to skipper the boat, told the court the boat was not seaworthy.

The boat finally used in the operation was bought for £6,000 from Wells in Somerset, along with a Volvo from Bristol.

This was later recovered on the beach at Easington, East Yorkshire.

Mr Duffy said it was the prosecution's case that the costs of the operation showed it would not have been viable with a cargo of tobacco.

However, he said it was just like any other business in that equipment had to be purchased to run it.

The court heard the excise duty on imported hand-rolling tobacco would have been in the region of £200,000.

Mr Duffy said the defendants accepted what they were doing was wrong, but told the jury the prosecution had offered no evidence to show they knew it was cocaine.

Mr McAllister's barrister, David Hall, said: "By his own account he [Mr McAllister] was up to no good."

However, he added his client, who had been involved in boats from a young age, had been asked to pick up a consignment of tobacco.

Giving evidence, Mr McAllister told the court: "If I had known then I was going to be involved in the smuggling of cocaine I would have said no – that ruins lives."

Addressing the jury, Mr Duffy referenced Donald Trump's election win.

"Half think he is saviour of democracy and will make America great again - the other half believe he is the enemy and it’s the end of the world as we know it.

"Tens of millions who have been given the same facts and yet have come to diametrically opposed conclusions," he said.

"The principal issue is not whether they were bringing contraband into the country – the issue is what it was."

The trial continues.

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