Havant man jailed for 24 years for his part in a cocaine smuggling plot worth millions
A Havant man has been jailed for 24 years for his part in a cocaine smuggling plot which was worth millions of pounds.
Scott Johnston, 38, from Havant, was arrested after a 28 mile boat chase after Border Force spotted their boat off the coast of Newquay on September 13, 2024.
The chase ended when officers arrested him, along with fellow Havant man Peter Williams, 43, and a man from Barcelona, after they had tried to escape having ran their boat aground on Gwynver Bay, Penzance. Following the chase six large bales were recovered from the sea containing 230kg of high-purity cocaine.
Johnston pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to importing Class A drugs but was found guilty after a two-week trial on Monday, June 23. He was subsequently sentenced to 24 years in prison at Truro Crown Court on Friday, August 1.
Three other men were also sentenced with Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, 33, of Barcelona, getting 17 years and seven months. Both Michael May, 47, of Brentwood; and Terry Willis, 44, of Chelmsford, helped organise collection of the cocaine, worth £18.4m. They were sentenced to 19 years and 21 years 8 months imprisonment.
National Crime Agency (NCA) senior investigating officer, Barry Vinall, said: “These are substantial sentences for four men who didn’t care about the misery cocaine causes, they just wanted to make a profit.
“Cocaine is one of the most harmful illegal drugs in the UK, linked to thousands of deaths and fuelling violent crime that wrecks communities and lives.
“Working together, Border Force stopped cocaine worth millions from making it onto UK streets and the National Crime Agency ensured that the group behind its importation faced justice.”
Following the arrest in September 2024, the NCA led an investigation which resulted in seven arrests and convictions. The investigation had trawled through CCTV footage, call data and phone messages with Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood, Alex Fowlie, 35, of Chichester also arrested and convicted.
Fowlie from Chichester was found to have purchased the boat to pick up the cocaine from a larger boat off the coast. Audio messages on his phone also revealed he was planning more drug collections at sea just three days after his co-conspirators were arrested.
The three other men arrested, Pearce, May and Willis, were waiting on the Cornish coast to collect the cocaine.
Williams and Pearce are set to be sentenced on August 21, with Fowlie due to be sentenced on September 5.
Duncan Capps, Senior Director of Border Force Maritime said: "It is the job of Border Force to protecting our border and keeping communities safe. Our officers were fantastic and displayed incredible skill during the 28-mile pursuit, despite the suspects' attempts to get rid of evidence.
"Border Force will continue to work alongside the NCA to prevent dangerous drugs reaching our streets and will ensure criminals caught smuggling face the full force of the law."
Video of the arrest in Penzance can be seen embedded in this article.