Mark Moran found guilty of £40m cocaine plot

A man has been convicted of “playing a key role” in a conspiracy to import cocaine with a street value of more than £40 million.

The drugs were found in a van at The Stags Head Inn at Lelley, near Hedon in East Yorkshire, on May 4 after being transferred from a ship sailing in the North Sea.

Mark Moran, 23, of Glenfyne Terrace in Ardrishaig, Scotland, was found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs by a majority verdict at Hull Crown Court on Friday. He was also cleared of a second supply conspiracy charge.

Anthony McAllister, 33, of Aldersyde in Taynuilt, Scotland, was found not guilty on both charges.

The hearing had previously heard both men accepted their part in collecting the shipment from a designated delivery point in the North Sea, but He denied knowing it was cocaineIt was sent from Columbia.

The court also heard the operation incurred significant costs, including the purchase of a £40,000 boat which was abandoned in Lowestoft, Suffolk, after it was searched by Border Force officials on April 25 before any contraband was collected.

Prosecutor Angus McDonald said the conspiracy was clearly lucrative enough for them to make that decision.

The boat eventually used in the operation was purchased from Wells in Somerset for £6,000, along with a Volvo from Bristol.

The court heard Moran played a key role in the operation and was the main point of contact in the UK.

The boat was later found off East Yorkshire’s Easington coast after the drugs were loaded into the van.

Moran and Didier Tordecilla Reyes, a Colombian national who has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine, are expected to be sentenced at a later date.

Mr McAllister’s barrister David Hall had previously told the court: “On his own account he (Mr McAllister) was not in good faith.”

But he said his client, who was hired to captain the boat, was asked to pick up a shipment of tobacco.

Giving evidence, Mr McAllister told the court: “If I had known I would be involved in cocaine trafficking I would have said no; it would ruin lives.”

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