An eighth man has been arrested as part of an investigation into a cocaine smuggling ring off the Cornish coast.
Earlier this year, seven men were convicted and jailed for a total of more than 130 years after pleading guilty to trying to smuggle £18.4m worth of cocaine into the UK on an inflatable boat in September 2024.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said officers investigating the plot, which involved a 28-mile (45km) sea chase from off the coast of Newquay, had now arrested an eighth man.
Investigators said the man, in his early 50s from Cosham, Portsmouth, had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import a Class A drug. The man was taken into custody at a local police station.
It added that officers were currently searching two addresses in Cosham and Southsea in connection with the investigation.
Senior Investigating Officer Barry Vinall said the NCA and Border Force were “working relentlessly to stop cocaine making it from sea to shore and to identify every individual involved in trying to bring it into the country”.
