West Yorkshire man held over £160m drug smuggling plot
A man from West Yorkshire has been charged in connection with the attempted importation of around a tonne of cocaine.
The cocaine seized.
James Andrew Hill, 30, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency at his home in Hampshire Close, Ilkley, yesterday on 30 June.
He was charged with conspiring to import class A drugs and appeared before Wakefield Magistrates on the morning of 1 July, where he was remanded in custody until his next appearance at Leeds Crown Court on 15 July.
The drugs were seized from the yacht Makayabella by the Irish authorities in September 2014.
It was caught around 300 miles off the south west coast of Ireland.
Intercepted by the Irish Navy.
The Irish Naval Service discovered around a tonne of cocaine on board.
The drugs, which originated in Venezuela, would have had a likely UK street value in excess of £160 million once cut and sold.
Hill is the fifth person to be charged in the UK in connection with the Makayabella seizure.
In November 2014, Stephen Powell, 48, from Guiseley was jailed for 16 years after pleading guilty to attempting to import the drugs.
Images: National Crime Agency.
