£60m of cocaine seized off yacht on Welsh coast

Six people have been arrested after a yacht believed to be carrying an estimated £60 million worth of cocaine was seized off the coast of Wales, marking one of the largest hauls of cocaine in UK history.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers have recovered 250kg of the drug, with a further 500kg expected to be found.

The boat, named Sy Atrevido, which had sailed from South America, was targeted as part of an intelligence-led operation as it sailed into Fishguard harbour, Pembrokeshire.

The operation, which took place on the morning of Tuesday 27^th August, is the result of an investigation by the NCA into an alleged organised group allegedly smuggling drugs into the UK.

Two British men aged 53 and 41 were arrested on the vessel and remain in police custody.

Meanwhile, four others - three men aged, 23, 31 and 47, and a 30-year-old woman, were detained in Liverpool and Loughborough and later released on bail until late September.

Craig Naylor, deputy director of investigations at the NCA, commented, "We believe at the moment what we've taken off the boat has a wholesale value of £8 million, and the street value of that will be in excess of £20 million. That's likely to rise as we take more product off the boat, so as an estimate the wholesale value would be £20 million in total, and a street value of £60m.

"This is a very high-end job - 750kg (1,654lb) of cocaine. You don't come across that every day of the week."

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