A Colombian man who was part of a drug-smuggling gang trying to bring £42million worth of cocaine into the UK on a small boat has been jailed.
Didier Reyes, 40, was arrested in Lelley, East Yorkshire, in May 2024 by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers who discovered 524kg of drugs hidden away inside a rental van parked outside a pub in the small village.
He had acted as a contact for drug cartels in Colombia before flying to the UK to play a key role in the drug-smuggling attempt itself, which involved ferrying the packages around on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB).
Reyes was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison, at Hull Crown Court on Monday, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine.
After acting as a 'go-between' bridging South America and the UK, the Colombian joined co-conspirator Mark Moran, 24, of Argyll and Bute in Scotland, in sailing the RHIB from the Hessle slipway before heading back hours later with the drugs on board.
