A yacht allegedly used to to try and smuggle 1.4 tonnes of cocaine into the UK was so heavily laden its propeller was sticking out the water, a court has heard.

The catamaran Nomad was loaded with packages mid-Atlantic before being intercepted by a Border Agency cutter off the Irish coast, a jury heard.

The vessel bound for Cornwall was found to have 'staggering' £112m worth of high-purity cocaine stashed onboard when boarded last year.

When interviewed crew member Raymond Dijkstra, 28, told investigators he had joined the catamaran for a trip to Spain or Portugal when it was met by another vessel.

He told investigators the packages - which he suspected contained cocaine - were loaded onboard the catamaran.

The scene at Newlyn Harbour
The scene at Newlyn Harbour

He told them there were so many upfront that 'its propeller lifted out of the water' and that they then had to be redistributed around the boat.

Djisktra is one of five men who deny conspiracy to import cocaine at Bristol Crown court.

He denies having any knowledge or involvement with the drugs on the catamaran.

Gareth Wheetman, prosecuting, said Nomad set out on a voyage from Plymouth in July last year.

In the mid-Atlantic Nomad was met by a boat from South America and cocaine was stashed on the Nomad, the court heard.

Meanwhile two men prepared to receive it in fast RHIB boat Brenda’s Pet to bring ashore to the UK.

Unfortunately, the court heard, before the rendezvous the Border Force intercepted the five men on Border Force vessel Vigilant.

The Nomad was brought ashore and Nomad was searched.

The cocaine packages found on the boat
The cocaine packages found on the boat

A hatch revealed large bails containing 1,401 one kilo packages of high purity cocaine.

Just one package on the black market would fetch some £32,000, Mr Wheetman said.

The three men on board Nomad were Richard Must, Raymond Dijkstra and deckhand Gallis Voldermars.

They men were stopped on August 29 last year off the south coast of Ireland - heading for Hayle in Cornwall.

Meanwhile, the jury was told, Nigel Clark and Dean Waters were in Hayle preparing to receive the cocaine.

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The Nomad had sailed from Plymouth on 12 July last year and between August 11 and 13 last year, was waiting mid-Atlantic for a rendezvous with a boat from South America delivering cocaine, the court heard.

The prosecutor added: “They would not have known that, when they got near the UK, laying in wait for them was the Border Force.”

Mr Wheetman told the jury on August 29 Border Force vessel HM Cutter Vigilant picked up Nomad on its radar and was authorised to approach and board her.

A radio message was ignored, before Nomad was boarded and then escorted to Newlyn in Cornwall.

Cocaine with a purity of between 53 and 89 percent was found on board.

The prosecutor said in the meantime Clark and Waters were preparing fast RHIB Brenda’s Pet to collect the illicit cargo.

WIth the new, powerful engines the RHIB should have been able to reach 40 to 50 knots, the court heard.

By August 28 however, unknown to them, Waters and Clark were being watched by the National Crime Agency.

Waters was arrested on the A35, when he took a break in a lay-by at 7pm, and was arrested Clark in Hayle.

Each man had a special smartphone with the ability to encrypt communication, the prosecutor said.

Five defendants deny conspiracy to import cocaine between January and August last year.

They are:

Nigel Clark, 64, of Priory Road in Bournemouth
Dean Waters, 59, of Lime Kiln Road in Bristol
Richard Must, 49, from Estonia
Gallis Voldemars, 21, from Latvia
Raymond Dijkstra, 28, from the Netherlands.

Clark, Dijkstra and Waters also deny carrying cocaine on a ship between the same dates.