THREE men who were caught collecting more than £26 million worth of cocaine of the coast of Somerset have been jailed.

The trio claimed to have been selling a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) off Watchet in July, but were actually collecting cocaine from a ship.

Now, they have been sentenced after being uncovered during an operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Craig Nuttall, 51, and his brother, 47-year-old Raymond Nuttall, both from Preston, arrived at Watchet Marina on July 23.

The pair provided details of an RHIB named Guzzla and told the marina manager they planned to be in the area for a few days to fish.

On the evening of July 30, they were joined by Greek national Anestis Tsepa, 24, from Thessalonika, and 38-year-old Albanian national, Melios Delvina.

Raymond Nuttall was seen to drive a van down the quayside before removing two jerry cans and a hose from the rear.

By 8.46pm, Craig Nuttall, Tsepa and Delvina were in the RHIB wearing lifejackets and heading out to sea.

Drugs worth an estimated £26.5m were discovered on the boat. Pictures: NCA

Audio messages later discovered on Tsepa’s device showed they took the boat out to sea and were organising an at sea drop off (ASDO), where a larger vessel, otherwise known as a mother ship, is believed to have dropped illegal drugs into the sea to be collected by a smaller boat.

In the background of the messages, the Guzzla’s engine can be heard as they travel, discussing how long it will take their smaller, daughter vessel to arrive, clarifying which mother vessel they should follow and that they were now ready, waiting for that larger vessel to give a signal.

They returned to the marina at 1am and began to try to connect the boat to a trailer that Raymond Nuttall had driven down the slipway.

However, NCA officers stepped in and arrested the four men on suspicion of importation of Class A drugs.

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The Guzzla was searched and found to contain a large number of bale-sized packages that had been stored along the floor and between the seats.

In total, there were 14 packages, containing a further 322 smaller packages weighing a kilo each.

The substance inside was tested and found to be cocaine with an 89% purity. The drugs would be worth £26.5 million at street level.

A firearm was also discovered in the boat.

The Nuttalls and Tsepa provided no comment responses to NCA officers in interview.

Delvina gave a prepared statement in which he said he was unemployed and took work to unload items from a boat into a van with no knowledge of the drugs inside.

A firearm was also found on the boat by police. Pictures: NCA

The Nuttalls pleaded guilty to importation of cocaine at Taunton Crown Court on August 29, with Tsepa and Delvina admitting the same charges on September 5. Tsepa also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Raymond Nuttall, Craig Nuttall were sentenced to 11-years-and-three-months and 11-years-and-two-months respectively, while Anestis Tsepa was given a 16-year jail term at the same court on Thursday (November 13).
Melios Delvina is due to be sentenced on December 11.

NCA regional head of investigations, Gavin Webb, said: “These men were working as part of an organised crime group, using the cover of darkness to collect a significant amount of cocaine that would have ended up on the streets of the UK.

“They were fuelled by greed – if their attempt had been successful it would have netted them millions of pounds in profit. The presence of a firearm in the boat shows the levels they were willing to go to with their offending.

“The NCA is confronting and dealing with at-sea drugs drop-offs as a priority to ensure illegal drugs do not make it to UK shores. Dedicated Officers from the NCA were aided by, and are grateful for, the vital support of, our partners in Border Force, the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Avon and Somerset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police. These criminals are now behind bars.”

Two men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were charged in relation to the same seizure on November 6.

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