A major initiative to crack down on drug smuggling, organised crime and illegal immigration around the Welsh coast has been launched this week.
For the first time, a single point of contact has been created for boat users and coastal communities to provide tip-offs about suspicious activity.
Publicity material placed at key locations – from marinas to seaside pubs – has been designed to prompt members of the public to flag up their concerns.
The ‘Coast Watch Wales’ initiative brings together specialist officers from the various maritime and coastal agencies responsible for the security of Wales’s 750 miles of coastline. These include police, coastguards and UK Border Agency officers.
Examples of suspicious activity that would be of interest to Coast Watch Wales include:
- Night-time signalling between vessels at sea and people on the shore;
- Large vessels being approached by smaller craft;
- Items or people being landed in remote coastal areas;
- Vessels leaving or arriving at marinas and harbours at irregular times;
- Light aircraft landing on remote beaches and coastal areas;
- Items being attached to marker buoys; and,
- Large numbers of passengers embarking or disembarking vessels.
A dedicated Coast Watch Wales website and email facility has been set up for people to pass on information, 24 hours a day, about anything out of the ordinary.
The intelligence will be assessed and investigated by the Coast Watch Wales team. Information can also be given to Coast Watch Wales anonymously via the Crimestoppers phone number 0800 555 111.
The aim of Coast Watch Wales is to make the Welsh coast a hostile environment for anyone involved in criminal activity, such as people smuggling, drug importation and terrorism.
With the help of the public, the Coast Watch Wales team will look to identify vessels and individuals engaged in criminal activity, disrupt their operations and prosecute those involved.
Deputy Chief Constable Andy Edwards said:
“This is a significant first for Wales showing how everyone concerned with our coastline and the maritime community can work together to safeguard our national borders.”
Marc Owen, UK Border Force Director for Wales, said:
“The public is used to the idea of Neighbourhood Watch. Now we’re asking maritime communities to help us protect the Welsh coastline by making it simpler to report suspicious activity.
“The UK Border Agency works 365 days a year to prevent illegal immigration and smuggling at the Welsh coast – which forms a large part of the UK’s border.”
Barrie Evans, HM Coastguard Regional Resilience Co-ordinator said :
“Coast Watch Wales is a great opportunity for Her Majesty’s Coastguard to work with partner agencies and others to protect our maritime boundary and coastline.”
Recent cases of offences committed at the Welsh coast include the following:
In 2006, Operation Panama Canal investigated organised crime groups operating around the Welsh coastline. It concluded with the arrest and successful prosecution of more than 20 people from the UK, Spain, France and Jamaica. During the operation, approximately 400 kilos of cannabis, over 60 kilos of Class A drugs, ten kilos of other Class B drugs, two handguns and ammunition were recovered along with large quantities of criminal finances.
The main focus of the operation was a business premises located on the docks at Barry but criminal activity impacted upon the maritime community as far afield as Aberystwyth. The criminal gang had spent months visiting remote beaches and marinas in south and west Wales to conduct reconnaissance and they had planned to transport the illicit cargo from Jamaica on board a yacht and moor it close to the Welsh coast where it would be ferried ashore on board Rigid Inflatable Boats. The plot was thwarted before it reached this stage.
In 2008, several bales of cocaine were found washed up on beaches in north and west Wales. Each package contained drugs with an estimated street value of more than £2m. All were found and reported by members of the public.
In October 2008, police and UK Border Agency officers intercepted a vessel docking at Port Talbot and two Venezuelan men were stopped as they left the ship. The search resulted in officers finding and seizing over 11 kilos of cocaine with 70% purity and an estimated street value of £500,000. In 2009, at Swansea Crown Court, one of the Venezuelan men was found guilty of Importation of a Class A drug and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
