by Angus Young
A Colombian drug smuggler arrested after landing half a ton of cocaine on Easington beach has been jailed for 13-and-a-half years.
The high-purity cocaine had an estimated street value of £42 million.
It was unloaded off a “mother ship” in the North Sea into a rigid inflatable boat crewed by Didier Reyes and Mark Moran before being brought ashore in Easington in May last year.
The drugs were then transferred into a van and taken to the car park of the Stags Head Inn, Lelley, where the men spent the night.
However, the gang was arrested at the pub early the next morning by officers from the National Crime Agency and Humberside Police.
Reyes, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fraudulently evade the prohibition of a controlled drug.
Jailing him at Hull Crown Court, 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.
Moran, 23, of Ardishaig in Scotland, was jailed for 15 years last December after being found guilty of drug smuggling following a trial.
A third gang member, Daniel Livingstone, 25, 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 National Crime 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.”