Colombian jailed for over 13 years after cocaine worth £42m smuggled onto beach

JAILED: Didier Tordecilla Reyes

By Angus Young and Simon Bristow

A Colombian drug smuggler arrested after landing half a ton of cocaine on an East Yorkshire beach has been jailed for 13 and a half years.

The high-purity cocaine had an estimated street value of £42m.

It was unloaded off a “mother ship” in the North Sea into a rigid inflatable boat crewed by Didier Tordecilla Reyes, 40, and Mark Moran before being brought ashore at a beach in Easington in May last year.

Reyes and Moran, 24, had sailed the boat from a slipway in Hessle before returning hours later with the drugs haul and unloading it at a beach near Easington caravan park.

HAUL: Some of the drugs recovered by the National Crime Agency

A third man, Daniel Livingstone, 25, was waiting for them and had been seen shining a torch out to sea and talking on his mobile phone before they approached.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers observed Moran and Reyes unloading a number of bags from the boat on to the beach, and a van leaving the scene.

The hire van was parked outside a pub in Lelley where the men spent the night. NCA investigators found the drugs, which weighed 524 kilos, stashed inside the van.

The gang was arrested at the pub early the next morning by officers from the NCA and Humberside Police. The clothes Reyes was wearing when he was arrested were so waterlogged he had to change into a forensic white suit before being taken away.

SEIZED: The boat used to bring the cocaine ashore

Reyes, of no fixed UK address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fraudulently evade the prohibition of a controlled drug.

Jailing him at Hull Crown Court today, Judge Mark Bury said Reyes had specifically flown from Columbia via Spain to the UK to oversee the operation.

“You played a significant role and were fully aware from the start what you were meant to be doing.

“You were tasked with ensuring the safety of the product and its supply onwards,” said the judge, who also issued an order to destroy the seized drugs.

JAILED: Mark Moran, who crewed the boat with Reyes

Reyes had acted as a contact with Colombian drug cartels, the NCA said after the hearing.

Moran, of Ardishaig in Scotland, was jailed for 15 years last December after being found guilty of drug smuggling following a trial.

Livingstone, of Campbeltown in Scotland, was jailed for seven years and nine months after pleading guilty to drug smuggling before the start of the eight-week trial.

After jailing Reyes, Judge Bury praised the agency for its work in the case. He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the NCA. This was a very well-run and successful operation.

“I am quite certain it provided encouragement for all those concerned by creating a significant dent in the supply chain given the size and nature of the shipment.”

JAILED: Daniel Livingstone, who was seen shining a torch from the beach

The NCA investigation was supported by Humberside Police, who provided maritime and roads policing assistance, and Border Force who provided maritime advice.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Alan French said: “Reyes was an integral part of this smuggling attempt, acting as a go-between with drug cartel bosses in Colombia. Without his input, the cocaine would never have got into Moran and Livingstone’s hands.

“There’s no doubt these drugs would have been sold into communities around the UK, but crucial partnership working between the NCA, Humberside Police and Border Force thwarted the plot and left a huge hole in the pockets of the organised crime groups that would have benefitted.

“We are determined to do all we can to tackle the threat posed by class A drugs and protect the public from the horrendous impact they have on our society.”