Seven charged in NCA investigation into £140m cocaine seizure
Seven men have been charged over a plot to import £140 million worth of cocaine into the UK.
The drugs, which weighed 1.3 tonnes, were discovered in August last year in a shipping container at the Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, after they had arrived from Sierra Leone in West Africa.
The Class A drugs had a street value of £140m and were hidden in 20kg sacks with a cover load of flour and were destined to be delivered to an industrial estate in Wigan, Lancashire, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
On Wednesday (November 29), NCA officers arrested nine suspects and seven were later charged with conspiring to supply cocaine between February 27, 2020, and November 29, 2023. Two men were released on bail.
Those charged are:
Stephen Martland, 68, of Lakeland Gardens, Chorley, Lancashire.
Paul Mockett, 49, of Stump Lane, Chorley, Lancashire.
Darren Wetton, 55, of Ashby Street, Chorley, Lancashire. Wetton was also charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis between December 1, 2022, and December 10, 2022.
Darryn Schofield, 44, of no fixed abode.
Neil Maguire, 44, of Georgia Close, Bootle, Liverpool.
Neil Foley, 45, of Kingsway Avenue, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire.
Paul O’Shea, 45, of Edge Lane, Crosby, Liverpool.
Four men appeared at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and three appeared at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court. All were remanded to custody apart from Wetton who was bailed.
They will all next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on January 3.