THE captain of a converted trawler, the Sea Mist, on which almost £48 million worth of cocaine was found in Cobb last September was sentenced to 17 years in prison in the Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Gordon Richards (50), with an address in Brighton, but who has been living in the Caribbean most of his life, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or supply to others on September 29th at Cobh.
He claimed his life and that of his girlfriend, Ms Teresa da Silva Roy (20), and her two year old son, Edwin, from Venezuela, would have been in danger if he had not captained the Sea Mist to its destination.
The drug running operation extended from Venezuela to Cork although the drugs were not intended for Ireland, but for mainland Europe.
Garda Insp William Hayes, Fermoy, said the cocaine had a street value of £47,920,000 and weighed almost half a tonne.
In a statement read to the court Richards readily admitted his involvement in the drug running operation. Three months before the trip he was approached by people who offered him money to take the Sea Mist to Brest in France.
He initially took the boat to Trinidad where it was repaired after leaving Puerto de La Cruz in Venezuela.
"An aeroplane dropped the shit off while we were at sea. I knew it was contraband and was pretty sure it was cocaine," he said.
He took it on board and hid it in the dumb waiter shaft with the help of another man.
He received $6,000 which was for supplies and $1,000 for himself. He claimed in the statement that his girlfriend and her son stowed away on board, but later said in a letter to the judge that he took them with him because he believed they were in danger.
Richards claimed in the letter to Judge A.G. Murphy that armed Colombians or Venezuelans threatened him and told him he would not live if he did not captain the trawler.
He admitted, however, he was to be paid $400,000 for the trip.
Richards owned a charter yacht which was destroyed in Hurricane Lois along with all his belongings a few years ago. He tried to pick up the pieces of his life and felt he was doing so after he met Ms Da Silva Roy and her child.
He delivered a 40 ft sloop to Puerto De La Cruz in Venezuela and was asked if it was capable of crossing the Atlantic. He told the man who was to captain it that it was dangerous to do so.
Later he was asked to look at the Sea Mist with a view to taking it to Europe. He became apprehensive when he saw high tech communications and navigation equipment being installed. When he asked about it he was told he was the captain as he had scared the other man off. He was to do what he was told.
He brought his girlfriend and the child on board as he feared for their safety.
Mr John O'Mahony SC said Richards was forced under the threat of violence to cross the Atlantic with the drugs on board by evil faceless men.
The judge congratulated the Garda and Customs officers on the Trojan work they did in finding the drugs. He had a special word of praise for Dusty the sniffer dog and his handler.
Earlier this week the three crew members, Mr Roman Smollen and Mr James Noel, from Trinidad, and Mr Graham Howard Miller from Cumbria, England, and Ms Da Silva Roy were all found not guilty by the jury.