5.2 tonnes of cocaine siezed from a yacht.

[laika]

What gave them away?

 

[Seven Spades]

Our Border Force can board any vessel in UK waters, and a UK flagged vessel in international waters. For foreign flagged vessels in international waters they would use powers from the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (CRIJICA 1990), which, as DJE quite rightly states requires permission from the flag state’s government.

You know the Indians didn't bother with that when a Princess was being rescued. It seems that if a state decides that they want to board you and arrest you the law takes a back seat.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Can anyone identify the marque of the yacht? Someone was asking on Reddit, but no-one was able to answer.

 

[Rum Run]

Can anyone identify the marque of the yacht? Someone was asking on Reddit, but no-one was able to answer.

​

that's a fair size greenhouse on the boat. Were they growing weed as well......

 

[Seven Spades]

I belive it is called a Cola-Float

 

[Tomahawk]

To have seized the yacht some distance offshore implies they knew from the outset what the yacht was carrying and had presumably been following its progress. ....

Which seems to corroborate my suspicions.
Look up the GD Clifton one day if you are lost for something to do. She was another drugs running ship. Met at Tilbury by a crew of grinning Customs officers. They knew well before hand what was on board.

 

[flaming]

Can anyone identify the marque of the yacht? Someone was asking on Reddit, but no-one was able to answer.

My first thought was an old Trintella, but I can't find an exact match in terms of windows etc to anything on google.

 

[Minerva]

We were in the Horta, the Azores a couple of years ago. On one of the concrete quays there is a raft of boats which are supposed to have been seized in their use of drug running.

Amongst them was the old Whitbread maxi Martella. A really sad sight seeing an old formidable warhorse come to an ungainly end, sat in the quayside with tyres for fenders slowly rotting away!

 

[Kukri]

The saddest of all was this old war horse:



Some years after the Smeetons sold her and took to farming, “Tzu Hang” was seized by US Customs for drug running and crushed by a bulldozer.

 

[fredrussell]

I once heard a statistic (I know, I know) that for every kilo of coke that leaves Its country of origin one person has died. So this haul represents over 5000 dead. It’s a sombering thought.

 

[Bajansailor]

Can anyone identify the marque of the yacht? Someone was asking on Reddit, but no-one was able to answer.

She looks rather similar to the larger Tayanas - I am guessing that she must be around 55' - 60' long?

 

[Frogmogman]

Amongst them was the old Whitbread maxi Martella. A really sad sight seeing an old formidable warhorse come to an ungainly end, sat in the quayside with tyres for fenders slowly rotting away!

Which way up was she ?

 

[Bajansailor]

Two of the former Whitbread RTW racers Martella and Athena used to be based here for a while doing match racing sailing trips for paying punters about 12 years ago - sadly they did not last very long, and I later heard that the two yachts had been laid up ashore at Chaguaramas in Trinidad.
@Minerva do you have any further details as to how Martella ended up busted for drugs in Horta?

Here is a thread on Sailing Anarchy about the ORC here in Barbados -
Ocean Racing Challeng Barbados

And a 'hands on' report re a match race here -
Barbados Yacht Racing

 

[Minerva]

@Minerva do you have any further details as to how Martella ended up busted for drugs in Horta?

I don't sorry - she was just tied up to the concrete naughty dock with other floating wrecks. The folk I spoke to who worked at the harbour were saying the boat all tied up there were captured from drug smugglers.

You can just make out her mast in this photo from Google street view

Google Earth

 

[Whitlock]

Whilst it's good to see the arrest, I do wonder what rights there are to board a vessel in international waters.

Might is right.

 

[emandvee44]

Looking at the pictures of the yacht I wonder what the freeboard would be with 5.2 tonnes of 'cargo' on board?
M.

 

[Frogmogman]

Can anyone identify the marque of the yacht? Someone was asking on Reddit, but no-one was able to answer.

Turns out she is a Dinamic 80 called Siro G. She was for sale……,
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