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UK Arrests Drug Smuggling Tug in the North Sea
Topic Started: 26 Apr 2015, 10:01 PM (39 Views)
skibboy
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UK Arrests Drug Smuggling Tug in the North Sea

BY ROB ALMEIDA ON APRIL 26, 2015

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Image: UK National Crime Agency

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), with support from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter Valiant, intercepted an ocean-going tug in the North Sea last week and made a “potentially significant seizure of illegal drugs,” according to John McGowan from the NCA.

“The exact amount of cocaine on board is yet to be determined and the search is likely to continue for some time,” said McGowan.

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Image: UK NCA

The MV Hamal and it’s crew of nine men was intercepted about 100 miles east of Aberdeenshire on Thursday, 23 April as a result of close cooperation with the French Customs Service DNRED and in coordination with the UK’s National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) plus the Maritime Analysis and Operational Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) based in Lisbon.

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skibboy
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Record Three Tons of Cocaine Seized from North Sea Tug

BY MIKE SCHULER ON MAY 1, 2015

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MV Hamal is intecepted in the North Sea, April 23, 2015. Photo: NCA

More than three tons of cocaine has been found aboard an ocean going tug intercepted by UK forces in the North Sea last week, according to an update from the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).

The seizure is believed to be biggest single seizure of illegal drugs in UK history, worth an estimated half a billion pounds, the NCA said.

Working on intelligence supplied by the NCA, the tug, identified as the MV Hamal, was intercepted by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter Valiant about 100 miles east of Aberdeen on Thursday, April 23..

The vessel was then taken to Aberdeen harbour where extensive search of vessel uncovered the massive haul.

The NCA said that the cocaine found has an estimated total weight in excess of three tons which, if cut and sold in the UK, would have a potential street value £500 million.

“The search of this vessel has been lengthy and painstaking, undertaken by hugely skilled specialists working in difficult conditions,” said John McGowan, a Scotland-based senior investigating officer for the NCA. “The result is this massive discovery – believed to be the biggest single class A drug seizure on record in the UK, and likely to be worth several hundred million pounds,” McGowan added.

The nine-man crew of the Tanzania-flagged Hamal, all Turkish nationals aged between 26 and 63, have been charged with drug trafficking offenses.

They appeared before Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday 27 April where they were remanded in custody until their next appearance on May 5th.

“Our investigation continues, but the operation was only possible thanks to the close co-operation between the NCA, Border Force, the Royal Navy, plus the French DNRED and our other international partners. The extensive operation in Aberdeen was given substantial support from Police Scotland,” McGowen said.

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skibboy
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Tugboat Captain, First Officer Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking in UK’s Biggest Ever Cocaine Bust

July 12, 2016 by Mike Schuler

The captain and first officer of an ocean going tug have been found guilty of drug trafficking in what authorities have described as the biggest seizure of class A drugs ever in the history of the United Kingdom.

The cocaine was found hidden on board the Tanzanian-flagged MV Hamal in April 2015.

The vessel was intercepted by Royal Navy and Border Control assets in the North Sea about 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire following a tip from the UK’s National Crime Agency working with French customs investigators.

The MV Hamal was later escorted to the Port of Aberdeen where an exhaustive search turned up 128 bales of uncut cocaine stashed inside a hidden compartment next to one of the tug’s ballast tanks.

The total weight of the cocaine taken off the MV Hamal turned out to be in excess of 3.2 tonnes, worth an estimated total street value of the drugs to be about £512 million.

Hamal’s nine crew members, all Turkish nationals, were detained and charged with drug related offenses.

Investigators later determined that the ship likely loaded the drugs at sea about five days after leaving the Georgetown, Guyana off South America’s North Atlantic Coast in March 2015, and were destined to be offloaded in North Sea, north of the Dutch/German border.

Of the nine crew members detained, charges against four were found not proven and three others were acquitted, however a 12 week trial at the High Court in Glasgow found the captain, Mumin Sahin, and first officer, Emin Ozmen, guilty of two counts of drug trafficking.

Sentencing has been set for August 12.

“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,” commented NCA senior investigating officer John McGowan. “While we suspect that the end destination for this load would have initially been mainland Europe, there is no doubt given the size of the seizure that a good percentage would have ended up being sold in the UK and fueling further criminality.”

“Our investigation has been truly international and we have relied on support of law enforcement colleagues across the globe, including France, Turkey, Guyana and Tanzania,” McGowan.

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skibboy
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Captain and Mate of Drug-Smuggling Tug Get 20 Years

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Image courtesy National Crime Agency

2016-08-12

On Friday, a British court sentenced tug captain Mumin Sahin, 47, and first officer Emin Ozmen, 51, to two decades imprisonment for trafficking cocaine – $660 million worth, the biggest drug bust in UK history.

Last April, Britain’s National Crime Agency received a tip from French authorities that the tug Hamal was under way in the North Sea with an illicit cargo.

The vessel was flagged in Tanzania, and the Crown Prosecution Service said that it worked quickly with an advisor to obtain flag state permission to board her in international waters.

"Although there was strong intelligence that the boat was carrying a large volume of drugs, it could not be boarded in international waters by the UK authorities without the permission of the Tanzanian government – something they had never previously granted," the CPS said in a statement.

"Without the swift actions of our Criminal Justice Adviser there was a high risk that the vessel may have escaped and we would never have been able to bring these men to justice," said Sue Patten, head of the CPS International Justice and Organised Crime Division.

The Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset intercepted the Hamal off of Aberdeen, Scotland and sent over a boarding team. After an extended search, investigators found 128 bales of cocaine concealed in a tank.

John McGowan, senior investigating officer for the NCA, said in a statement that the search was “lengthy and painstaking, undertaken by hugely skilled specialists working in difficult conditions."

In addition to lead roles from UK, French and Tanzanian authorities, law enforcement officials in Guyana, Spain, Denmark, Norway and the U.S. contributed to the investigation leading up to the boarding.

The street value of the cocaine found on the Hamal was nearly four times the current price of all the oil on an ultra large crude carrier; if it were insurable, the cargo loss would rank among the largest recent marine casualty claims, well above the $525 million liability associated with the hull and cargo of the MOL Comfort in 2013.

The rest of the Hamal's crew – Kayacan Dalgakirin, 54, Mustafa Guven, 48, Mustafa Ceviz, 55, Abdulkadir Cirik, 32, Muhammet Seckin, 27, Umit Colakel, 29 and Ibrahim Dag, 48 – were either acquitted or had charges dismissed.

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