National Crime Agency drug operation a huge success
Two drug smugglers who tried to bring cocaine with a street value of £42 million into the UK using a small boat have been sentenced to prison.
Daniel Livingstone, 25, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers on May 4 outside a hotel in Lelley, East Yorkshire, with 524 kilos of cocaine hidden in his van.
Livingstone was accompanied at the hotel by two accomplices: Mark Moran, 23, and 40-year-old Colombian national Didier Tordecilla Reyes. The trio had conspired together to smuggle the Class A drug.
Moran and Reyes used a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) to sail from the Hessle slipway, returning with the drugs and unloading them at a beach near the Easington caravan park.
Livingstone awaited their arrival, seen shining a torch towards the sea and talking on his mobile phone as they approached.
NCA officers witnessed Moran and Reyes abandoning the RHIB on the beach after transferring numerous bags of cocaine into the van.
Earlier in the day, Moran, from Ardrishaig, Argyll and Bute, was in Norwich, where he drove a hire van and the RHIB to Grimsby. There, he met Livingstone, from Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, and Reyes. The group then drove to Hessle, where Livingstone stopped to fill two large jerry cans with fuel.
The NCA investigation received support from Humberside Police for maritime and roads policing assistance, and Border Force for maritime advice.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Alan French stated, “These drugs would undoubtedly have been distributed in communities across the UK. By working with partners like Humberside Police and Border Force, we have prevented this crime ring from profiting and made substantial inroads against their operations. We are committed to combating the threat of Class A drugs and shielding the public from the devastating harm they inflict on society.”
After an eight-day trial, a jury at Hull Crown Court found Moran guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine on October 28.
Livingstone and Tordecilla Reyes pleaded guilty to the same offense on June 5 and July 22, respectively. A fourth individual, also from Argyll and Bute, was acquitted by the jury.
Today (December 23) at the same court, Moran received a 15-year prison sentence, while Livingstone was sentenced to seven years and nine months. Reyes will be sentenced at a later date.