Two Men Found Guilty of the Biggest Ever Class A Drug Haul in Britain

There have been drug hauls of epic proportions in Britain's time. The huge cannabis factory found inside railway tunnels in North Wales with an annual turnover of more than you'll make in your sorry life. There was that luxury yacht that got caught cruising into Southampton with $390 million of coke. And, of course, the crappy abandoned indoor market in Coventry earlier this year, which, on closer inspection, wasn't so empty.

Now these criminal efforts look minor next to the two men have been found guilty of smuggling over three tons of cocaine in the biggest class A drug haul in British history. Officials say the drugs could have been worth up to $650 million if they'd reached British streets. Mumin Sahin and Emin Ozmen concealed the stash in hidden compartments inside their boat's ballast tanks. They were caught after their ship, the MV Hamal, was stopped by the Royal Navy off the coast of Aberdeen last April. After a whole three days of searching, investigators eventually found two containers with 128 bales of coke inside.

NCA senior investigating officer John McGowan said they'd been caught because UK teams were working with forces in France, Turkey, Guyana, and Tanzania. Officials believe that the drugs got loaded onto the boat near Guyana before the smugglers went off to Britain.

The two men were found guilty after a trial in Glasgow and will be sentenced on August 12. The seven other men on the boat have escaped charges.

"This seizure was unprecedented in scale, the biggest ever class A haul in the UK, and we believe the biggest ever maritime seizure of cocaine in Europe," said McGowan. "While we suspect that the end destination for this load would have initially been mainland Europe, there is no doubt given the seizure that a good percentage would have ended up being sold in the UK and fueling further criminality."

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