US Edition
Drug Smugglers Caught with £37 Million of Cocaine in Inflatable Boat Are Jailed
- In June 2024, Border Force officers stopped two men—a 56-year-old from Dereham and a 32-year-old Dutch national—aboard a rigid inflatable boat carrying 350kg of cocaine off the Suffolk coast near the Broads.
- The men were attempting to smuggle the cocaine, worth approximately £39 million, which investigators believe came from South America and was collected from a larger ship off the French coast.
- After failing to stop, Knowles tried to flee by restarting the boat’s engines while Gumrukguoglu jumped overboard and was later found near Beccles; both were arrested and the boat was towed to Lowestoft harbour.
- NCA operations manager Paul Orchard characterized the interception as a swift and complex operation targeting two men involved in transporting a large shipment of high-risk Class A narcotics.
- Knowles received 17 years and 3 months, Gumrukguoglu 15 years, with sentences reflecting their substantial role and the quantity of drugs seized, highlighting ongoing efforts to disrupt organised crime.
8 Articles
8 Articles
Men who swam away from boat containing £39 million of cocaine sentenced
Two men who jumped from a boat and attempted to swim to shore after 350 kilos of cocaine was discovered in the hull have been sentenced. Bruce Knowles, 56, from Dereham, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 32, from the Netherlands, were intercepted on a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) near East Benacre Broads in Suffolk in June 2024. The men had been spotted on the vessel and failed to stop for… Source
The Scottish Sun
The Irish SunMoment drug-smuggling pals DIVE into water during boat chase to flee cops
THIS is the shocking moment a group of drug-smuggling pals dove into the water during a boat chase as they tried to flee from border police. Bruce Knowles, 56, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 32, were intercepted off the coast of Suffolk by cops while carrying 350kg of cocaine – worth £39m – in the hull of their boat. NCAThe two men were approached by Border Force officers off the coast of Suffolk in June last year[/caption] NCAAfter failing to stop fo…
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