Amersfoort man gets 12 years for smuggling 939 kilos of coke into UK

A 27-year-old Amersfoort man was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the United Kingdom for smuggling 939 kilograms of cocaine into the country. Two accomplices, an Irishman and a Briton, were sentenced to 16 years and 14 years respectively by the court in Bristol, AD reports.

The three men were caught on their ship, Bianca, as it sailed into British water in August last year. The authorities found 28 bags of cocaine in the hold. Each bag weighed between 25 and 30 kilograms. The drugs had a street value of some 84 million pounds, or 98 million euros.

The Irishman bought the boat a few weeks before they were caught, claiming he was going to use it for diving trips to Spain. A week before the trip, Dutchman Gerald van der K. flew to England to sail along. The ship sailed through the English Channel to the Atlantic Ocean, according to the navigational equipment. South of Ireland the ship turned around and headed back to England. It is likely here that the cocaine was picked up.

Van der K. will not be allowed to serve his sentence in the Netherlands, the National Crime Agency said in August.