Tag Archives: Jonathan Beere

Who are the Freshwater Five and what did they do? Two of the men will have their convictions considered

In 2011, five men were given a combined 104-year prison sentence for masterminding a £53m drug smuggling operation. On May 29, 2010, a small fishing boat, the Galwad-Y-Mor, left the Isle of Wight on what the crew claimed was a routine trip to catch lobster and crab in the Channel. That night, a large drug operation led by the Serious Organised Crime Agency was taking place,,, Two of the men, Jonathan Beere and Daniel Payne, will have their convictions considered by the Court of Appeal this week.  >click to read<

Freshwater Five: Radar evidence suggests surveillance plane and a suspect vessel – The Court of Appeal hearing begins tomorrow for two of the Freshwater Five, where new information will be put before the judge. All five men protest their innocence – following the trial they were sentenced for a total of 104 years; >Click to read<15:10

Lawyer appealing for release of fishermen: radar casts doubt on guilty verdict for £53m cocaine haul

It began like most other fishing trips for the crew of the Galwad. The sea was choppier than they’d have liked but the four men on board were hopeful of rich pickings in the spring tides off the Isle of Wight. They had no idea that the same stretch of the English Channel was that night the focus of a sophisticated policing operation centred on a container ship from Brazil. Around midnight on 30 May 2010 the Galwad came to the attention of the police surveillance teams. When its crew arrived on shore hours later, lugging baskets of lobster, they were arrested. >click to read< 12:06

The drug-smuggling fishermen vowing to clear their name – Why was there no trace of cocaine?

On 29 May 2010, a small fishing boat left the Isle of Wight on what its crew claim was a routine trip to catch lobster and crab in the English Channel. At the same time, a major surveillance operation was also under way, led by the Serious Organised Crime Agency – which had intelligence about cocaine being on board a giant container ship sailing from South America. That night, one of the ships being monitored and the men’s fishing boat briefly came close together – though exactly how close is still disputed. click here to read the story 11:56