A seasoned fisherman who met King Charles multiple times has been jailed for his role in a cocaine-smuggling plot.
Peter Williams was the captain of an inflatable which picked up drugs packages off the Cornish coast as part of a lucrative international operation.
However, Border Force teams grew suspicious and initiated a pursuit as Williams, along with co-conspirators Scott Johnston, 39, and Edwin Tabora Baca, 33, attempted to evade capture using their rigid inflatable boat (RIB).
The trio even tried dumping their illegal cargo – worth £18 million – overboard as they sought to outpace Border Force.
They were eventually chased onto a beach near Land’s End where they were arrested.
Williams, of Havant in Hampshire, was handed a jail term of 16 years and nine months at Truro Crown Court on Thursday.
Co-conspirator Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood in Essex, was sentenced to 15 years and four months in prison.
Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Border Force Officers spotted the inflatable boat on the horizon while carrying out an operation off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, last September
The three men onboard the boat were caught by Border Force officers who chased them on foot
Four other men had already been jailed over the smuggling.
The court heard Williams was a respected voice in the fishing industry and had met with Government officials as well as the King.
But he had fallen on hard times, and resorted to drugs after seeing his father die at sea.
Defending Williams, lawyer Harry Laidlaw told the court: ‘He knew full well what he was getting himself into.
‘He just captained the boat. He was a foot soldier acting under instruction.
‘He did not have an operational or management role in the chain.
‘His role was simple albeit skilled.’
Mr Laidlaw told the judge that Williams was involved in a charity called Fishing Into The Future.
Truro Crown Court was informed that seven conspirators were supposed to retrieve 20 bales of cocaine from the sea after these were dropped by a cargo ship (pictured, clockwise from top left: Alex Fowlie, Terry Willis, Scott Johnston, Michael May, Bobbie Pearce, and Peter Williams).
It was mentioned that King Charles previously served as a charity trustee and had met multiple times to support sustainable fishing and encourage youth involvement in the industry.
‘It has been a massive fall from grace,’ Mr Laidlaw said. ‘He has not made his money from crime.
‘He was an upstanding member of the local coastal community.
‘He has made a terrible series of decisions.’
The prosecution explained that the drugs had traveled from South America via a cargo vessel across the Atlantic Ocean and were released in waterproof bales into the English Channel.
These bales were equipped with GPS tracking devices alongside Apple air tags, allowing for their recovery by a smaller vessel and subsequent transportation to mainland Cornwall for distribution across the country.
But despite the technology, the three men on the boat only managed to find 11 of the 20 bales – and dumped them during the chase.
Pictured: Spanish-speaking Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, who joined Johnston and Williams in trying to outrun Border Force officers
Border Force officers later retrieved six large containers containing approximately 230kg of ‘high-purity cocaine’ from the ocean, leading to the arrest of the men involved.
The other conspirators were arrested at later times after National Crime Agency investigators trawled through CCTV footage, phone call data and phone messages.
Pearce and three other men – Alex Fowlie, 35, of Chichester; Michael May, 47, of Kelveden Hatch, Essex; and Terry Willis, 44, of Chelmsford, Essex – helped plan and organise the cocaine smuggling operation and pick up.
Willis also admitted money laundering and possessing a revolver and live ammo which were found in a rucksack in his bedroom cupboard.
Tabora Baca – who claimed to be a tourist who had accepted a boat invitation from two strangers to go fishing – was the Spanish speaking link between the higher figures in the operation and had flown into the country on several occasions.
But messages on his phone discussed the group’s plans and shared a photo of the cocaine on the vessel.
Johnston played a significant role as he piloted the RHIB and helped dump the cocaine during the pursuit.
Six large containers containing around 230kg of ‘high-purity cocaine’ were recovered from the ocean (pictured)
The boat filled with £18million worth of cocaine crashed into a beach after three men were chased for 28 miles at sea
The judge said two organised crime groups were involved – one in the South West involving the boat and retrieval of the drugs from the sea – and the other in Essex where the cocaine would have been taken to be cut, divided and sold on to street dealers.
Tabora Baca was jailed for 17 years and seven months and will be deported, Johnston was jailed for 24 years, Willis for 21 years and 8 months which included five years for the firearm offence, and May was jailed for 19 years.
Fowlie, 35, of Chichester will be sentenced on 5 September.
