Ex-army veterans sentenced for £34 million cocaine haul via English Channel
Two former British soldiers were each given 16-year prison terms after a £34 million cocaine shipment was intercepted on a fishing boat in the English Channel.
Former British Army personnel Alan John Colquhoun and William Donohoe planned a sophisticated cocaine smuggling run that valued about £34 million and involved 425 kg of the drug. The gang used the New Horizon fishing boat to retrieve a GPS-tracked shipment in the English Channel before attempting to bring it ashore at Sovereign Harbour near Eastbourne. National Crime Agency officers intercepted the vessel on June 8, discovering the drugs in blue containers and arresting the crew, including skipper Ian Smith, fisherman Jacob Cronin and lookout Daniel Ruffell.
All five men pleaded guilty; the two veterans were sentenced to 16 years each, Smith to 12 years, Cronin to six years and eight months, and Ruffell to eight years. The court heard the pair were paid £80,000 and had previously served in Bosnia and Afghanistan, respectively.
Why it matters
The case shows how military skills can be repurposed for organized crime, highlighting challenges for law enforcement.
In this story
