Oil Rig Worker Receives 14 Years Jail Sentence For Part In £40 Million Cocaine Smuggling Scheme

David Paterson, an oil rig worker from Peterhead was given a 14 year jail sentence by Portsmouth Crown Court for his part in a £40 million cocaine smuggling case, along with 11 others for trying to get 16 bales of class A drugs to the shore.

The National Crime Agency uncovered the network which involved several members involved in smuggling at least 500 kilograms of cocaine.

In August, 2024, Agents waited at the Medmerry Beach, West Sussex as the criminals threw bales into the sea from a container ship. To prevent water ingress, the drugs were packaged in waterproof wrapping and had a GPS tracker.

They were thrown into the sea, 40 nautical miles south of the Needles, to the west of the Isle of Wight.

The 49-year old Paterson had to recover the drugs from the sea and bring them to shore but he was not successful. On August 17, 2024, he sailed from Portsmouth Haslar Marina into the international waters but the container ship that had to drop them sailed past him.

He was receiving instructions from an accomplice named Lewis Watts who was ashore. He told Paterson to chase the ship and follow the direction of the flash light. However, Paterson could not get the drug bales as the trackers had failed and were not transmitting a signal.

Later, the authorities nabbed him and the group’s leader, the 41-year old Daniel Jamieson, and Sam Brown who were given 22 years and 16 years and 6 months in prison.

Jamieson pretended to be a businessman to procure a boat for getting the drugs while Brown recruited men into the organisation.

Senior Investigating Officer of the NCA, Jules Harriman said that the main culprits had been found and sentenced to long periods behind bars.

If their smuggling attempts had worked, then the drugs would have caused misery and violence to many local communities around the country.

The criminal group that was supplying the offenders had lost the drugs, officials confirmed saying that the NCA would do everything to protect the people from drug abuse.