Peterhead oil worker tried to smuggle £40 MILLION of cocaine into UK … and almost lost the lot at sea

A Peterhead oil worker has been convicted of trying to smuggle £40 million of cocaine into the UK.

David Paterson, 49, was one of 11 criminals who have now been found guilty over the international plot, which was uncovered by the National Crime Agency.

A jury at Portsmouth Crown Court heard how the 500kg haul of class A drugs was almost lost at sea, after GPS trackers failed.

Paterson’s job in the criminal operation was to sail out in an inflatable boat and collect the consignment, which had been tossed into international waters from a container ship.

Paterson left Haslar Marina in Portsmouth in the early hours of August 17 2024 and headed for the drop spot,  about 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, to the west of the Isle of Wight.

Drug recovery plan went from bad to worse

The plan was for Paterson to see where the drugs were dumped and fish them out with two other men – one who was acquitted at trial and another who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They would then return to shore in their rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) – the ‘Amma Sigga’ – and the drugs would be moved to safety and sold to other crime groups across the country.

But things did not go according to plan.

The container ship sailed past Paterson, who was taking directions via WhatsApp from OCG accomplice Lewis Watts, 37, who was ashore.

“Big ship has passed you, flash lights,” he instructed Paterson.

Increasingly desperate, Watts added: “Big ship has passed you, chase it and flash lights!”

But the container ship sailed on, leaving Paterson to locate the waterproof bundles of drugs using the GPS trackers.

Things went from bad to worse for the hapless smuggler when the trackers failed to ping and didn’t send a signal.

After several hours of frantic searching Paterson, whose day job was on an oil rig in the North Sea, returned to shore empty-handed.

He played no further part in the conspiracy.

Paterson, of Viking Way, Peterhead, was convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine by the jury.

Some time in the morning of August 18, the trackers came back online and the organised crime gang scrambled a new crew to locate the Class A drugs.

The following day Adil Nolan, 40, left Eastbourne Harbour in the Amma Sigga to finally retrieve the drugs. He was with a man who cannot be named for legal reasons, and an unnamed third man.

The trio recovered 16 bales of cocaine with a purity of about 85% and sailed the RHIB to Medmerry Beach in West Sussex, where law enforcement officers were waiting for them.

Crime gang busted

Seven members of the OCG previously admitted their roles.

Today a jury at Portsmouth Crown Court convicted three other men and one woman.

The OCG bosses were Daniel Jamieson, 41, and Sam Brown, 33.

Jamieson, of Heath Road, Ramsden Heath, Essex, masqueraded as a legitimate businessman and, using a false name, bought a maritime business so he could get hold of a RHIB to recover the drugs.

He was convicted at trial of conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

Brown, who lived at Wykeham Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool, during the conspiracy period admitted the same charge. He played a key role in recruiting others.

Brown, a cocaine user, is originally from Essex with links to Basildon and Laindon. He enlisted the help of his friend Harry Kennedy.

Kennedy, 38, lived on the same street in Liverpool as Brown. He became involved in the plot on August 18 when Brown realised the GPS trackers were working and he asked Kennedy to help move the cocaine once ashore.

Messages between the pair recovered during the investigation showed the two men were also involved in the supply of drugs separate from this investigation.

Kennedy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Lewis Watts, of Tilbury, Essex, was Jamieson’s right-hand man and instrumental to the conspiracy.

He took charge of a prepaid credit card that was set up to fund the conspiracy.  He sourced locations for the RHIB to land, researched and purchased equipment, assisted in the boat’s set up and acted as a go-between for conspirators in real life and online. He was convicted at trial of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine.

Adil Nolan, of Fazakerley, Liverpool, was a close associate of Kennedy and skippered the Amma Sigga when it retrieved the cocaine from the sea. He admitted conspiring to smuggle cocaine.

Crime gang convictions

Charlotte Blenman, 34, of Boscombe, Bournemouth, was one of five people identified as being part of the landing party on Medmerry Beach. Their job was to help take the drugs from the beach.

She was cleared of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine but convicted of assisting an organised crime group.

The other landing party criminals were: Roy Harmer, 46, of Bournemouth, Neil Pinchbeck, 43, of Poole, Thomas Stewart, 40, of Peterborough, Ricky Platt, 49, of Boscombe, Dorset. All four men admitted assisting an organised crime group.

Those convicted of conspiring to smuggle cocaine will be sentenced on November 5. Those convicted of assisting an organised crime group will be sentenced on November 6.

Jules Harriman, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “This was a large seizure of cocaine and represents a serious loss for the crime group.

“Their profits can no longer be ploughed back into further offending and we’ve prevented these toxic drugs from reaching UK streets where they poison people’s lives.

“Working with partners such as Border Force, the NCA will continue to do all it can to protect the public from the threat of Class A drugs.”

[Source: Press and Journal]