Men jailed after cocaine worth up to £120m seized near Rye
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
Dutch nationals Hendrik Brugmans, 69, and Raymond Aalders, 47, admitted to smuggling cocaine with a street value of up to £120 million and were jailed when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing on Friday (June 3).
The men were caught with the drugs hidden on a yacht known as ‘Golem’ around seven miles off the south east coast of Rye on August 31, 2015
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdLorna Vincent reviewing lawyer in the international justice and organised crime division at the CPS said: “Hendrik Brugmans and Raymond Aalders smuggled nearly a tonne of cocaine, which has an estimated wholesale value of over £41 million. They hid the cocaine inside the yacht in a workbench, seat floors, a wardrobe and a fresh water tank.
“The yacht was found seven miles off the south east of Rye within British territorial waters, where Hendrik Brugmans was found as the owner of the yacht and Raymond Aalders was aboard.
“The strength of our evidence left the two men, who were in pursuit of enormous profits, with no choice but to plead guilty. This case shows no matter how sophisticated the drugs importation, the CPS will work hard to bring offenders to justice.”
The yacht’s skipper Brugmans was jailed for 20 years and nine months while Aalders was jailed for 14 years.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe conviction came after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
In interviews with NCA officers both men admitted sailing the vessel from Curacao in the southern Caribbean. The boat’s destination was believed to have been the Netherlands.
Investigators also found evidence that Brugmans was paid 1.2 million Euros for making the trip.
NCA say forensic tests on the packages revealed the cocaine was 70 per cent pure, and if adulterated and sold in the UK could have had a potential street value of up to £120 million.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMatt Rivers from the NCA’s Border Investigation team said: “These two men were involved in an audacious plot to smuggle millions of pounds worth of high purity class A drugs into Europe.
“Their reckless attempts to avoid detection by breaching sailing regulations could have had extremely dangerous consequences.
“It is believed the final destination of the boat was to be the Netherlands but given the sheer scale of this seizure, it is likely that a large amount of the drugs would have ended up being sold on the streets of the UK.
“The NCA will continue to work with Border Force to disrupt the organised criminals involved in trafficking cocaine to Europe and the UK.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDon’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.
1) Make our website your homepage at www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/
2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RyeandBattleObserver
3) Follow us on Twitter Text to display
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.
And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!
The Rye and Battle Observer - always the first with your local news.
Be part of it.