Eleven offenders guilty of plot to retrieve 500kg of cocaine from the ocean – as NCA releases bonus episode of podcast series Underworld exploring the chemical concealment of cocaine.

Eleven criminals have been convicted over a plot to recover 500kg of cocaine from the sea after they nearly lost the lot when their GPS trackers failed.

David Paterson, 49 sailed out from Haslar Marina in Portsmouth into international waters in the early hours of 17 August 2024 to collect the consignment which had a street value of £40m.

It is believed the drugs were dropped into the water about 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, to the west of the Isle of Wight, by an accomplice crew aboard a container ship.

The drugs were in waterproof bundles, each fitted with a tracker.

The plan was for Paterson to see where the drugs were dumped and fish them out with two other men he was with – one who was acquitted at trial and another who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They would then return to shore in their rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) - the ‘Amma Sigga’ – and the drugs moved to safety and sold to other crime groups across the country.

But the container ship sailed past Paterson who was taking directions via WhatsApp from OCG accomplice Lewis Watts, 37, who was ashore.

“Big ship has passed you, flash lights,” he instructed Paterson.

Increasingly desperate, Watts added: “Big ship has passed you, chase it and flash lights.”

The container ship sailed on leaving Paterson to locate the drugs from the trackers – but the trackers had failed and were not sending a signal.

Several hours later Paterson, whose day job was on an oil rig in Scotland, returned to shore empty handed, and played no further part in the conspiracy.

Some time in the morning of 18 August, the trackers came back online and the OCG scrambled a new crew to locate the Class A drugs.

The following day Adil Nolan, 40, left Eastbourne Harbour in the Amma Sigga to finally retrieve the drugs. He was with a man who cannot be named for legal reasons, and an unnamed third man.

The trio recovered 16 bales of cocaine with a purity of about 85% and sailed the RHIB to Medmerry Beach near Selsey in West Sussex where law enforcement officers were waiting for them.

Seven members of the OCG previously admitted their roles.

And today (Wednesday 22 July) a jury at Portsmouth Crown Court convicted three other men and one woman.

The OCG bosses were Daniel Jamieson, 41, and Sam Brown, 33.

Jamieson, of Heath Road, Ramsden Heath, Essex, masqueraded as a legitimate businessman and, using a false name, bought a maritime business so he could get hold of a RHIB to recover the drugs with. He was convicted at trial of conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

Brown, who lived at Wykeham Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool, during the conspiracy period admitted the same charge. He played a key role in recruiting others. Brown, a cocaine user, is originally from Essex with links to Basildon and Laindon. He enlisted the help of his friend Harry Kennedy.

Kennedy, 38, lived on the same street in Liverpool as Brown. He became involved in the plot on 18 August when Brown realised the GPS trackers were working and he asked Kennedy to help move the cocaine once ashore. Messages between the pair recovered during the investigation showed the two men were also involved in the supply of drugs separate from this investigation. Kennedy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Lewis Watts, of Toronto Road, Tilbury, Essex, was Jamieson’s right-hand man and instrumental to the conspiracy. He took charge of a prepaid credit card that was set up to fund the conspiracy. He sourced locations for the RHIB to land, researched and purchased equipment, assisted in the boat’s set up and acted as a go between for conspirators in real life and online. He was convicted at trial of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Adil Nolan, of Maureen Walk, Fazakerley, Liverpool, was a close associate of Kennedy and skippered the Amma Sigga when it retrieved the cocaine from the sea. He admitted conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

David Paterson, of Viking Way, Peterhead near Aberdeen, was convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine by the jury.

Charlotte Blenman, 34 of Shelley Road East, Boscombe, Bournemouth, was one of five people identified as being part of the landing party on Medmerry Beach. Their job was to help take the drugs from the beach. She was cleared of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine but convicted of assisting an organised crime group.

The other landing party criminals were: Roy Harmer, 46, of Chine Road, Bournemouth; Neil Pinchbeck, 43, of Pearce Road, Poole; Thomas Stewart, 40, of Carpenter Close, Peterborough; Ricky Platt, 49, of Westby Road, Boscombe, Dorset. All four men admitted assisting an organised crime group.

Those convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine will be sentenced on 5 November. Those convicted of assisting an organised crime group will be sentenced on 6 November.

Jules Harriman, NCA senior investigating officer, said:

“This was a large seizure of cocaine and represents a serious loss for the crime group.

“Their profits can no longer be ploughed back into further offending and we’ve prevented these toxic drugs from reaching UK streets where they poison people’s lives.

“Working with partners such as Border Force, the NCA will continue to do all it can to protect the public from the threat of Class A drugs.”

The NCA would like to thank Merseyside Police, West Mercia Police, Hampshire Police and Sussex Police for their assistance.

The trial ended as the NCA yesterday (Tuesday) launched a new bonus episode of its podcast series Underworld.

The episode explores the chemical concealment of cocaine as an example of how technology is changing the nature of the crimes we face.

NCA experts explore how the agency is using international collaboration and world-leading technology to stay ahead of this evolving threat and protect the public from the devastation the drugs trade brings.

Cocaine production in South America is at a record high and the UK remains one of the world’s biggest consumers of the drug.

As law enforcement continues to disrupt trafficking routes and seize hundreds of tonnes each year, criminals are responding with increasingly sophisticated methods – including chemical concealment, using complex chemistry to disguise the drug at a molecular level.

22 July 2026