New charges over €380 yacht cocaine seizure

Three English men were before Cork District Court yesterday to face fresh charges arising out of last September’s seizure of €80m of cocaine on a yacht.

John Powell, aged 70, Thomas Britteon, 28, and Benjamin Mellor, 35, were formally arrested and charged

with possession of cocaine for supply and having the drug for sale or supply when its street value exceeded €13,000. That is the threshold figure for the drug charge that on conviction allows for up to life imprisonment and a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence except in exceptional circumstances.