|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Cannabis smugglers jailed for 14 years Shirley English Times Wednesday 13 Dec 2000 THREE drug smugglers were each jailed for 14 years yesterday after being caught off the British coast with cannabis worth £43 million. More than eight tonnes of the drug was seized by customs in July this year after suspicious were aroused by a scruffy 45ft yacht, the Red Scorpion, as she sailed between Orkney and Shetland. Albert Hulst, 43, the skipper, and crewmen Arjeh Vandijk, 33, and Christian Ekkebus, 29, were sentenced by Lord Hardie at the High Court in Edinburgh. The three Dutchmen were members of a well-organised international drug smuggling gang and not couriers who had been tricked into taking part as they had claimed, Lord Hardie told the court. Everyone engaged in the drugs trade, whether they are dealers, smugglers or couriers, should be aware that British Territorial Waters or international waters off the coast of Great Britain is not a safe route, he said. The court heard that the drug smugglers began their journey in Morocco and sailed north out into the Atlantic to avoid the coasts of Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland. Customs men on the Aberdeen-based Searcher noticed the vessel on their radar during a patrol in the North Sea. They shadowed the yacht for 24 hours before intercepting it. Their suspicions were roused by the vessels scruffy appearance, which suggested that she had been at sea for some time. She was flat in the water and obviously carrying something heavy. The crew claimed that they had set sail from Bremerhaven, Germany, only a few days earlier, but an examination of the memory in the yachts navigation equipment allowed investigators to plot the entire voyage. During the five-week trial the men denied charges brought under the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990, but as the trial was moving into its closing stages they changed their pleas and admitted being concerned in carrying or concealing a drug cargo destined for The Netherlands. The Crown agreed to drop charges that the cannabis resin might have been intended for the UK. Lord Hardie praised the vigilance of the customs men and the way that they had followed through on their suspicions. I hope your superiors recognise your outstanding service on this occasion and pass on the courts admiration and gratitude for an excellent outcome of the trial, a professional operation and a public service well-performed, he said.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!