Britons go on trial in connection with yacht cocaine seizure

Three Britons will go on trial today over the seizure of 1.7 tonnes of cocaine from a yacht off the Irish coast.

Philip Doo, David Mufford, and Christopher Wiggins are charged with attempting to import the drugs, believed to be worth more than €650m.

The trio were arrested after navy, gardaí and customs swooped on the 60ft ocean-going boat, Dances With Waves, last November 170 miles off the West Cork coast.

It is alleged the 75 bales of cocaine were discovered on the vessel, which had set sail from the Caribbean a month earlier.

The men will stand trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Doo (aged 52), of Rocklands House, Higher Manor Road, Brixham, Devon; Mufford (aged 44), of Clennon Court, Clennon Lane, Torquay, Devon; and Wiggins (aged 42), of Mirador de Costalita, Estepona, Malaga, Spain, have been in custody since their arrest.

They are charged with the same offence under Section 34 of the Republic’s Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act – possession of drugs with intent to import.

The seizure exceeded a previous record-breaking haul of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine - valued at €440m – which washed up on the Cork coast near Mizen Head in July 2007 after an elaborate trafficking scam fell apart.