Colombian jailed for £42m cocaine smuggling plot

A Colombian national was jailed for 13 years and six months for his central role in what prosecutors described as one of the United Kingdom’s largest-ever drug seizures, after authorities intercepted more than 524 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of over £42 million.

The seizure followed the landing of the drugs by boat off the East Yorkshire coast in May 2024, when National Crime Agency officers arrested the conspirators after they checked into a local pub near Easington. Didier Reyes, 40, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to importing cocaine at a previous hearing.

Hull Crown Court heard that Reyes flew from Colombia to the UK via Spain, under the pretence of looking for work in London. He traveled to Hull and booked into a hotel under a false name. The gang hired vans and an inflatable rib and set off from Hessle foreshore into the North Sea, collecting waterproofed bales of cocaine dropped by a larger vessel.

After landing near Easington, the group was apprehended as they checked into the pub for the night. Passing sentence, Judge Mark Bury said Reyes “played a significant role in this enterprise,” noting text messages in Reyes’s phone showing contact with someone higher up the chain. The judge added there was “no evidence of pressure or duress or threats,” and Reyes was “fully aware from the start of what you were to be doing.” He also praised the NCA for a seizure that had “dent[ed] the supply of cocaine” in the UK.

In December, two Scottish men were jailed for their parts in the plot: Mark Moran, 22, of Glenfyne Terrace, Ardrishaig, was sentenced to 15 years, while Daniel Livingstone, 25, of Calton Avenue, Campbeltown, received seven years and nine months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine.