This seems HUGE! OK so we woke up this morning only to hear that a luxury yacht [View all]

[malaise]

was seized in Plymouth, England.
Oops - cocaine worth £160m (you heard that right) was seized. An English man and five Nicaraguans were arrested. It was on our news because the shipped was Jamaican-flagged. No Jamaicans were aboard. How and why was Australia involved in this?

Here are some links
Six men arrested in £160m cocaine haul off Plymouth coast
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-58528515

Six men including a Briton have been arrested off the coast of Plymouth after authorities seized more than two tonnes (2,000kg) of cocaine.

The British man, from Stockton-on-Tees, and five Nicaraguans were arrested on a luxury yacht on Thursday.

The men, aged from 24 to 49, were held on suspicion of drug trafficking and remain in custody, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Officers estimate the street value of the drugs is about £160m.

The group were sailing in the Jamaican-flagged Kahu when they were intercepted 80 miles off the coast, in international waters north of Guernsey.

The yacht, which had sailed from the Caribbean, was intercepted and boarded by specialist Border Force and NCA officers.
-----------

https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/126356565/exnavy-vessel-transformed-into-super-yacht-in-new-plymouth-caught-up-in--multimilliondollar-international-drug-bust

A former New Zealand Navy patrol ship, which was transformed into a luxury yacht by a former New Plymouth business, has been caught up in a $225 million international drug bust.

The Australian Federal Police and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) intercepted the charter yacht Kahu in international waters on Friday, on its way from the Caribbean to Britain, and seized 2000 kilograms (two tonnes) of cocaine.

Six people – five Nicaraguan nationals and one UK citizen, aged from 24 to 49 – were arrested.

Australian officers based in the UK tipped off the NCA about an alleged transnational drugs syndicate using the Jamaican-flagged vessel to coordinate cocaine shipments.
--------------------------
https://www.superyachtnews.com/fleet/new-zealand-build-exploration-yacht-seized-in-drugs-investigation

M/Y Kahu, a converted ex-navy patrol vessel with a complex history, provides a cautionary tale for the potential misuse of an ageing fleet…
Intercepted in international waters off the south coast of the UK, 6 individuals aboard the 37m New Zealand-built M/Y Kahu have been arrested, and 2000kg of cocaine seized.

Built at Whangarei Engineering & Construction Ltd (WECO) in 1979, it originally served as a small navy patrol vessel before being purchased and undergoing an extensive refit at Fitzroy Yachts in 2011. The then-owner of both Kahu and the Fitzroy Yachts yard, Peter White-Robinson, when interviewed by SuperyachtNews in 2012, outlined his family’s plan for Kahu to undertake a full round-the-world itinerary, finishing in 2015.

Kahu set sail in August 2012; however, after reaching Canada in May 2013, Fitzroy Yachts fell into financial difficulties, and White-Robinson stepped down. The voyage was cancelled, and Kahu was sold. The exploration focussed refit of Kahu was extensive, as White-Robinson said at the time: “We added a lot of equipment like a sewage treatment plant, watermakers, a third generator, stabilisers, bow and stern thrusters and an extra anchoring system. We’ve upgraded all the electronics and GPS, radar, and we have a whole different suite of instruments up there in the bridge." Most importantly, considering the travel itinerary planned, its fuel capacity was upped from 13,000l to 32,000l, giving an 8000-mile range at 8 knots, as White-Robinson continued, “The navy listed their range as being 1300 miles, so we have a much better range now.”

Kahu’s last known asking price was around €1.5 million and it was seized with what has been estimated as €200 million worth of cocaine on board. Considering the potential range and capabilities of the vessel, its repurposing is easier to understand. At a superficial level, the regularity of crossings from the Caribbean and Latin America to the UK and Europe may have implied that this voyage was not out of the ordinary. However, initial reports suggest that a coordinated investigation between The Australian Federal Police and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) was tracking the vessel and aware of its cargo. It also serves as a warning to the industry; there are many smaller, ageing and private vessels that can be misused.