Four found guilty in $2B cocaine trial

CORK, Ireland, July 24 (UPI) -- Three men were sentenced in an Irish court for attempting to smuggle 1.5 tons of cocaine, the largest seizure of cocaine ever in Britain and Ireland.

The three convictions Tuesday and one guilty plea capped a 10-week trial involving cocaine that officials said would have been worth an estimated $2 billion had it reached the streets, The Times of London reported Thursday.

Sixty-one packages of cocaine were seized last summer in the Irish Sea after a catamaran ferrying the illegal cargo stalled, overturning an inflatable boat and toppling the packets into Dunlough Bay, west Cork.

Joe Daly, from London; Martin Wanden, address unknown; and Perry Wharrie, from Essex, were sentenced to prison terms of 25 to 30 years for their roles in transporting and storing the cocaine as part of a criminal operation based in Britain and Spain, the Times said. Gerard Hagan, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later, court officials said.

Investigators said using diesel fuel instead of gasoline caused the boat to stall, setting in motion the events that led authorities to find the cocaine. The boat, ironically, was named Lucky Day, the Times reported.