A statement issued yesterday by the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam said more than 3.2 tonnes of cocaine was seized from a Tanzania-registered tugboat, MV Hamal, off the coast of Scotland in the incident which occurred in April 2015.
The decisive interventions of Tanzania's attorney general George Masaju and Director for Public Prosecutions (DPP) Biswalo Mganga made the difference in the bust, according to the statement.
It explained: "The UK authorities were only able to stop this vessel in international waters because of the cooperation of Tanzania. Under international maritime law, Tanzania had to give permission to allow the UK authorities to board the vessel in international waters."
"The permission was given by the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions (of Tanzania) within 24 hours of the request being made by the UK criminal justice advisor based at the British High Commission in Tanzania. This quick response enabled UK law enforcement to act swiftly to intercept the vessel before it could evade capture."
Some 128 bales of cocaine were found in the ballast tanks on the MV Hamal, each weighing approximately 25 kilos.
"Forensic tests revealed the cocaine had a purity of between 58 and 74 per cent. It would likely have been cut three times over before being sold, meaning it had the potential to create almost ten tonnes of adulterated street level purity cocaine valued at around £512 million," said the statement.
The vessel was intercepted by a Royal Navy destroyer and UK Border Force cutter in the North Sea approximately 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire. It was boarded on April 23 and escorted into the Port of Aberdeen.
According to the British high commissioner to Tanzania, Dianna Melrose, the case showed the true global reach of drug trafficking and other serious organized crime.
"It is only by working together that we can tackle it. The operation to stop this boat led to the largest ever seizure of cocaine in the UK," said Melrose.
The ship’s captain, Mumin Sahin, and first officer Emin Ozmen – both from Turkey - were on Monday this week convicted by a UK court of smuggling the drugs, while four other crew members - Kayacan Dalgakiran, Mustafa Guven, Umit Colakel and Ibrahim Dag (also all Turkish nationals) - were found not guilty by majority verdict.
Sahin (47) and Ozmen (51) were found guilty of being knowingly concerned with the carrying and concealing of cocaine on the ship between 20 February and 23 April 2015, and of being concerned in the supply of cocaine between 21 April and 23 April 2015.
The sentencing of the pair has been deferred until August 12 this year
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