Dereham cocaine smuggler caught in boat off Benacre Broad

Bruce Knowles, 55, and co-conspirator Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 31, from the Netherlands, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court today.

The pair were arrested after a rigid hulled inflatable boat was intercepted off the coast near Benacre Broad, just south of Lowestoft, on June 24 this year.

Both pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of Class A drugs.

The cocaine was seized (Image: NCA)

They were snared in a major law enforcement operation.

The operation, which was part of a National Crime Agency investigation, resulted in 350 kilos of cocaine being found hidden under tarpaulin on the boat.

Investigators believe the vessel had travelled out to sea where it had met a larger ship and collected the drugs.

In dramatic scenes just off Benacre Broad - one of the most remote sections of the East Anglian coast - a Border Force cutter moved in after the drugs smugglers' boat failed to stop.

One of the smugglers was seen jumping from the craft and swimming towards the beach.

The law enforcement officers overhauled the RHIB and went aboard, where they seized 350 kilos of cocaine wrapped in large, black plastic bundles.

Knowles and Gumrukguoglu have been remanded in custody and the sentencing date will be decided during a hearing due to be held on 1 November.

National Crime Agency operations manager Paul Orchard had previously said: “This is a very significant seizure of cocaine and will be a huge loss for the organised crime group involved in smuggling it into the UK.

“With thanks to our partners in Border Force, we have been able to remove these dangerous drugs from the market before they reached the streets of the UK, where they would undoubtedly have fuelled further crime and exploitation.

“This seizure is a great example of joint working to disrupt criminal activity and protect the public from serious and organised crime.”