Five men have been sentenced following a National Crime Agency investigation after £1.4 million of ketamine was smuggled via a fishing boat from Amsterdam to Suffolk.

NCA officers were watching as Sean Seymour, 60, from Saxmundham, stood at the coast looking out to sea for sight of a vessel on 16 February 2024.

In the early hours of the following day, 17 February 2024, a fishing vessel called 'Girl Carole' was seen entering the River Deben in Suffolk with Seymour driving to meet it.

On his way, he stopped to pick up Domenic Labella, 21, from Ipswich, before continuing on to an isolated jetty in Ramsholt.

The fishing vessel Girl Carole arrived into the jetty and at 4.18am and Seymour and Labella were seen boarding the boat and returning to his vehicle, carrying large boxes.

The two men drove to an industrial estate in Rendelsham where they unloaded boxes into a storage unit.

A later search of the unit discovered 200 kilos of ketamine and 10 kilos of cannabis resin.

By 5.04am, NCA officers had stopped their car and both men were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply.

Twenty minutes later, the Girl Carole was stopped by officers from the maritime Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms unit who boarded and found Richard Saul, 43, from Woodbridge, Nathan Wellard, 55, from Thetford, and Alexander Sampson-Chambers, 36, from Welling on board.

They were all arrested for being concerned in the importation of controlled drugs into the UK and taken into custody.

NCA officers searched the boat. A deactivated shotgun was found on board as well as silver bars and a diary containing information relating to boat equipment, contacts, sea coordinates and potential meetings with other ships out at sea. These diaries had been seen with Saul during surveillance by NCA officers.

Surveillance by the NCA had also overheard a number of conversations with Saul. In one, he talked about paying out £80,000 in expenses to set up the drugs operation and his willingness to travel to pick up drugs. He was heard to say 'if you can get that stock in Holland I'll run every f***ing week twice a week and we'd f***ing nail it'. In another, he said he had already done four runs in the summer and called his criminal venture 'a piece of p*ss'.

Another conversation heard Saul discussing a job he was doing for an unknown person at the weekend, acting as a 'skipper for hire' for organised crime groups.

He discussed costs and payment and Saul stated his 'rule of thumb [is he] would take 10%' of any value.

In a third conversation, Saul was heard discussing stealing a load of cocaine from a warehouse in Holland worth £3m. He stated if he was successful in stealing the drugs, 'that would be a nice start to the f***ing year, I can have the f***ing rest of the year off'.

NCA investigators believe the group was working together to pick up the drugs in Amsterdam, working with Dutch partners to monitor the boat while it was in the Netherlands and on its departure.

Following arrest, all of the men were questioned by NCA officers. Saul claimed he knew the substance being transported was ketamine but said he was only part of transport and logistics and not purchase or retail of the drugs. The others denied knowledge of the drugs.

Despite their denials at interview, they appeared at Ipswich Crown Court and all pleaded guilty to drugs offences at the start of their trial last month.

They were sentenced at the same court today (23 April). They were sentenced to:

• Richard Saul – eight years in prison
• Sean Seymour – four years two months in prison
• Domenic Labella – two years in prison, suspended for 18 months and 100 hours of unpaid work
• Nathan Wellard – two years in prison, suspended for 18 months and 100 hours of unpaid work
• Alexander Sampson-Chambers - two years in prison, suspended for 18 months and 150 hours of unpaid work

Ingrid Watson, Regional Head of Investigations at the NCA, said:

"This group used a fishing boat and the cover of darkness to sail from the Netherlands to the UK with a haul of £1.4 million of drugs on board. Little did they know, their crimes were being watched by the NCA and this expedition would end in their arrest.

"Richard Saul was the ringleader of the group, boasting about his extensive criminal enterprise and how easy he believed it was to smuggle drugs into the UK with his associates.

"Ketamine usage has increased in the UK and users should be aware of the horrific physical and mental damage it causes. The NCA will continue to work with partners overseas to stop drugs reaching the streets of the UK and keep criminal groups like this one off the streets."

23 April 2026