Three jailed for 47 years over £80m cocaine smuggling plot

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 08:51 · Archive

Three people have been jailed for a combined 47 years after attempting to intercept 780kg of cocaine worth more than £80 million shipped from Mexico through Felixstowe.

A lorry driver's tip-off led police to uncover a major drug smuggling operation in November 2021. The gang had arranged to intercept 780kg of cocaine with a street value of more than £80 million that was being shipped from Mexico via Felixstowe.

The three defendants arrived in Ipswich on the same day the shipment landed and booked rooms at a budget hotel. From there, they hired a van and ordered large takeaways to their rooms as they waited to intercept the lorry. Northamptonshire Police were called to a lay-by on Lilliput Road, Northampton, after an HGV driver reported his container had been broken into while he stopped for a cup of tea.

Craig Le-Mare, 36, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to 20 years' imprisonment for conspiracy to supply cocaine. Kelly Robertson, 46, of Peregrine Close, Watford, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court in November 2024. Michael Weston, 57, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court in May to 12 years and nine months' imprisonment. Detective Inspector Dean Grafton said the investigation 'exposed an intricately planned operation, where the defendants hoped to make millions by selling cocaine across the UK' and that officers 'worked for two years as they meticulously unravelled their operation'.

How it is being reported

• Drug gang stayed in Ipswich before £80m cocaine plotThree people jailed for 47 years after a lorry driver’s tip-off exposed an attempted £80m cocaine heist involving 780kg shipped from Mexico via Felixstowe.East Anglian Daily Times · 5 Nov, 08:06
• Drug gang stayed in Ipswich before £80m cocaine plotThree people jailed for 47 years after a lorry driver’s tip-off exposed an attempted £80m cocaine heist involving 780kg shipped from Mexico via Felixstowe.Ipswich Star · 5 Nov, 08:06

In this story: Craig Le-Mare · Kelly Robertson · Michael Weston · Ipswich · Felixstowe · Metropolitan Police · Northamptonshire Police

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