Man jumped into the sea as officers swooped on speedboat with £37m of cocaine onboard

Cocaine worth £37million was discovered stashed away on a speedboat by law enforcement officers after they intercepted a major smuggling operation off the coast.

The stash was hidden in the bows of a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) which was being monitored by the National Crime Agency and Border Force in the waters just south of Lowestoft.

Officers believe the vessel had travelled out to sea for a rendezvous with a larger vessel, where it had collected the drugs before heading back to the shore.

READ MORE: Two men charged after cannabis factory discovered in Great Yarmouth

In dramatic scenes just off Benacre Broad - one of the most remote sections of the East Anglian coast - in the early hours of Monday morning, a Border Force cutter moved in after the boat failed to stop.

One man was seen jumping from the craft and swimming towards the beach.

NCA officers discovered 350 kilos of cocaine, worth £37 million, on an inflatable boat off of the Suffolk coast (Image: National Crime Agency)

The law enforcement officers overhauled the RHIB and went aboard, where they seized 350 kilos of cocaine wrapped in large, black plastic bundles.

Two men - Bruce Knowles, 55, from Dereham, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 31, from the Netherlands - were arrested on suspicion of importing a controlled drug.

One of the arrests involved officers from Norfolk and Suffolk police.

The operation was finished around 7am.

The rigid-hulled inflatable boat was intercepted near Benacre Broad on the Suffolk coast ​(Image: Mike Page)

Both men were interviewed by NCA investigators and charged to appear at Norwich Magistrates' Court.

Knowles appeared there on Tuesday and was remanded until his next appearance on July 23.

Gumrukguoglu is due to appear there on Wednesday.

Border Force Cutter (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA)

Paul Orchard, from the NCA, said: “This is a very significant seizure of cocaine and will be a huge loss for the organised crime group involved in smuggling it into the UK.

READ MORE: Illegal immigrant in court over £45k of cocaine and cash found in rented house

"With thanks to our partners in Border Force, we have been able to remove these dangerous drugs from the market before they reached the streets of the UK, where they would undoubtedly have fuelled further crime and exploitation.

"This seizure is a great example of joint working to disrupt criminal activity and protect the public from serious and organised crime.

"Our investigation into this importation continues.”

REMOTE SPOT

Benacre beach is one of the most remote parts of the East Anglian coast, between Kessingland to the north and the village of Covehithe to the south.

The beach is a thin slither of shingle separating the North Sea from one of the region's most interesting features, Benacre Broad.

Despite its name, it has little in common with other broads found in nearby Norfolk and north Suffolk.

Investigators believe the vessel had travelled out to sea where it had met a larger ship and collected the drugs. (Image: Mike Page)

It is a silted-up ancient river valley which is becoming smaller as the bar rolls back with the retreating coastline.

Its brackish waters have often been breached by tidal surges in the past as the lagoon has varied in size over the years.

Its remote nature - visitors must walk a long way on the beach to reach it - make it a popular spot for birdwatchers and it forms part of the Benacre National Nature Reserve.