British man gets 16 years for role in bid to import ton of cocaine

A 49-year-old man from West Yorkshire was jailed for 16 years yesterday for his part in a plot to import a ton of cocaine into Britain — which was seized by the Irish Naval Service.

Stephen Powell, 48, of Netherfield Road in Guiseley in England was arrested following the interception of the yacht Makayabella around 300 miles off the south-west coast of Ireland last September.

Acting on intelligence, the Naval Service boarded the Makayabella and discovered around a ton of cocaine onboard.

The drugs, which originated in Venezuela, would have had a likely street value in Britain in excess of £160m (€203m) once cut and sold.

Three British men — among them Powell’s father — were detained on the yacht, which was owned by Stephen Powell.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated case a 22-year-old Nigerian woman was arrested in Cork following the seizure of 400gms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €28,000.

The woman was arrested in the city on Thursday following a joint operation between customs officers and gardaí who discovered the drugs hidden in a shipment of sandals which had originally come from South Africa.