780kg cocaine haul worth £80m seized after lorry driver's tea break tip-off
Three people have been jailed for a combined 47-plus years over a plot to smuggle 780kg of cocaine into the UK, foiled after a lorry driver alerted police.
Gang jailed for over 47 years after £80m cocaine heist unravelled in Northampton
Three members of a cocaine smuggling operation have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 47 years in prison, after their plot to move 780kg of drugs — worth more than £80 million on the street — was undone by a lorry driver stopping for a cup of tea, the Evening Standard reports.
On 26 November 2021, a group was spotted breaking into a heavy goods vehicle parked near Lilliput Road in Northampton, where the driver had pulled over at a burger van. The individuals were seen removing large wrapped packages from the rear of the lorry and loading them into a transit van, which had been used to block the HGV in place.
The driver believed he was carrying 29 pallets of steel furniture parts, shipped in a sealed consignment from Mexico. He raised the alarm with Northamptonshire Police, who arrived to find seven holdalls of cocaine abandoned at the scene.
Within two hours, officers located the silver transit van used in the theft and recovered a further 11 holdalls of drugs. The 18 holdalls combined contained 780kg of cocaine.
Meticulous planning, two-year investigation
Financial records obtained by the Metropolitan Police revealed the extent of the group's preparation. They had travelled to Ipswich on 12 November 2021 — the same day the shipment docked at Felixstowe port — where they checked into a budget hotel, hired a van, and ordered takeaways to their room while waiting for the lorry to depart the haulage yard. They then followed the vehicle for 125 miles before carrying out the theft.
As Met officers pursued the group, the suspects switched cars, changed number plates, and falsely reported the transit van as stolen. A two-year investigation ultimately identified and built a case against those involved.
Sentences handed down
Craig Le-Mare, 36, of no fixed abode, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine on 27 October 2026 at the Old Bailey and sentenced to 20 years in prison on 4 November 2026.
Michael Weston, 57, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the same charge on 15 March 2024 at Snaresbrook Crown Court and received a sentence of 12 years and nine months on 22 May 2026.
Kelly Robertson, 46, of Peregrine Close, Watford, also pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 March 2024 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on 22 November 2024.
Police response
Detective Inspector Dean Grafton, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said: "This investigation exposed an intricately planned operation, where the defendants hoped to make millions by selling cocaine across the UK. Officers worked for two years as they meticulously unravelled their operation, conclusively proving their role in the attempted heist. Drugs fuel criminality and rip families and communities apart. These sentences prove our relentless determination to pursue organised crime groups and put dangerous criminals in prison."
Assistant Chief Constable Emma James of Northamptonshire Police credited the swift initial response of her officers as critical to the case. "The discovery of this substantial quantity of cocaine in Northamptonshire led to a significant investigation which ultimately prevented dangerous drugs from reaching communities across the UK," she said. "While the Metropolitan Police led the subsequent investigation, the swift response by Northamptonshire Police officers at the outset helped secure crucial evidence and disrupt the criminal group's plans."
James added that the case demonstrated the importance of inter-force cooperation. "Working alongside colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Service, we helped ensure those responsible were identified, brought before the courts and held accountable for their actions. The harm caused by cocaine extends far beyond those directly involved in its supply and use, fuelling exploitation, violence and wider criminality."
Source: Evening Standard