Trial Date Set For Men Accused Of Smuggling £500m Cocaine In North Sea Boat
A date has been set for the trial of nine men accused of smuggling £500 million of cocaine in a boat in the North Sea.
The MV Hamal was intercepted by Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter Valiant about 100 miles east of Aberdeen on April 23 this year.
It is alleged the ship had sailed from Istanbul, Turkey, to a number of north African countries between February and April, before travelling from Tenerife to the North Sea where it was stopped.
At the time, police believed it to be the UK's biggest class-A drug seizure.
At a hearing in the High Court in Glasgow today, the accused - Kayacan Dalgakiran, 63, Mustafa Guven, 47, Mustafa Ceviz, 54, Umit Colakel, 38, Ibrahim Dag, 47, Mumin Sahin, 46, Emin Ozmen, 50, Abdulkadir Cirik, 31, and Muhammet Seckin, 26, - who are all from Istanbul, maintained not guilty pleas to a charge of being knowingly concerned in the carrying and concealing of a controlled drug''.
A trial date of April 4 in Glasgow next year was set with a judge to be appointed to the case.