Two Scottish army veterans drew on their military experience to organise a sophisticated £34 million cocaine operation, involving an at-sea collection in the English Channel and the attempted smuggling of 425kg of drugs into Britain.
Alan John Colquhoun, 49, and William Donohoe, 38, worked with three other men to devise the ambitious plan, relying on knowledge gained during their service in the British Army.
The group intended to use a fishing vessel as a front, bringing the cocaine ashore at Sovereign Harbour, near Eastbourne.
The huge consignment was released into the sea with a GPS tracker attached, allowing the gang to locate and retrieve it.
However, officers moved in before the drugs could be collected. The gang was intercepted after returning to UK waters with the cocaine aboard the small fishing boat during a dramatic raid in June this year.
Bodycam footage recorded the moment a man was discovered hiding inside a cupboard on the New Horizon. A National Crime Agency officer, holding a ready Taser, then pulled him from the cramped hiding place.
Two Scottish veterans planned to disguise the smuggling operation as a fishing trip while bringing millions of pounds worth of cocaine ashore at Sovereign Harbour, near Eastbourne
Alan John Colquhoun, 49, and William Donohoe, 38, drew on their British Army experience while planning the daring drug operation with three other men.
Ian Smith, 50, Jacob Cronin, 31, and Daniel Ruffell, 36, were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court in Hove. All five defendants admitted taking part in the drug-smuggling conspiracy.
All five men pleaded guilty to their roles after officers stormed the boat. The two former soldiers were each sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Colquhoun, 49, of Oberon, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, and Donohoe, 38, of Sycamore Drive, Craigneuk, Airdrie, appeared alongside Ian Smith, 50, of New College Close, Eastbourne, East Sussex; Jacob Cronin, 31, of Elgar Way, Eastbourne; and Daniel Ruffell, 36, of Humber Way, Slough, Berkshire. They were sentenced at Lewes Crown Court in Hove.
The court heard that both Colquhoun and Donohoe had served in the British Army. His Honour Judge Jeremy Gold KC told the court that the former soldiers had masterminded the highly organised operation.
The judge said: ‘This was a sophisticated operation to smuggle drugs into the UK. I’ve been told the street value of the drugs would have been £34million.’
Colquhoun and Donohoe travelled to Sussex in May to begin preparations for the planned recovery at sea, the court was told.
‘You both have military background and would have been well equipped to organise the operation,’ the judge said.
National Crime Agency officers surrounded the New Horizon at Eastbourne’s Sovereign Harbour on June 8, with search teams boarding the vessel near Fisherman’s Wharf
The court heard that the gang was taking instructions from a larger organised crime group
Colquhoun and Donohoe each received 16-year jail terms. Smith, who served as skipper of the New Horizon, was sentenced to 12 years.
Jurors heard that financial difficulties led fisherman Cronin to take part in the smuggling scheme. He was jailed for six years and eight months.
Ruffell, who acted as the operation’s lookout, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The court heard how father-of-two Colquhoun and Donohoe were chosen to organise the pick-up for their military skills.
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The court heard that both men struggled with their mental health since leaving the military. Colquhoun served in Bosnia while Donohoe saw combat in Afghanistan.
The court heard that the pair were to be paid £80,000 for the job.
The men carried out a reconnaissance mission with skipper Smith before going back to Scotland in preparation for the ambitious smuggle.
They drove a rented van to Sussex which would have been used to transport the drugs from the harbour, with Smith acting as the skipper of the New Horizon.
Cronin was hired to work on the boat and Ruffell was working as a lookout to repay his drugs debt.
Officers from the National Crime Agency swarmed the New Horizon boat at the Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne on June 8 and search teams boarded the boat near Fisherman’s Wharf.
The gang needed a forklift to load the massive quantity of drugs into a rented van, with a resident living at the harbour describing the scene as ‘something out of a police drama’.
An eyewitness also said they saw officers putting what looked like a shrimp catch into boxes.
The gang were receiving instructions from a larger organised crime group, the court heard.
Their handlers called themselves Navigate and Bruce Wayne – the real name of superhero Batman.
Hugh French for the Crown told the sentencing hearing that the former soldiers were working for an organised crime group with international reach.
‘The drugs were deposited in the sea with transponder. On June 8, they were picked up from the sea and the vessel returns to harbour.’
The men unloaded the drugs from the boat onto a flat bed truck using a forklift.
‘Officers from the NCA moved in and arrested all five on suspicion of importing Class A drugs.
‘Ruffell was found hiding in a cupboard on board. Donohoe was located at a petrol station and was arrested.’
The 425kg of cocaine was found in blue plastic containers.
‘Donohoue had a leading role in the conspiracy,’ Mr French said.
Carl Barrass, NCA senior investigating officer, said: ‘The recovery of this quantity of cocaine represents a significant loss to the organised crime group behind its importation and will impact its ability to continue operating.
‘Combating the threat of Class A drugs is a priority for the NCA and we will continue to work with partners at home and abroad to protect the public.’
HHJ Gold told the men they would serve between a third and two thirds of their sentences in prison before they are eligible for release.
