Gobsmacked fisherman reels in £1million cocaine haul 'after following sea gulls'

12 October 2023 , 11:12

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Ron Rapp was with his family on their fishing boat near The Needles on the Isle of Wight coast when he was puzzled by seagulls diving and flapping on Sunday

A fisherman went out on the water – and caught cocaine packages worth £1million floating on the water.

Ron Rapp was with his family on their fishing boat near The Needles on the Isle of Wight coast when he was puzzled by seagulls diving and flapping on Sunday. He said: "We went round the Needles to anchor and saw some seagulls.

"They were sitting on something that looked like some sort of float, but our suspicions were drawn. We found three packages tied to two cannisters - one green and one blue - floating in the water.

Ron said he "found three packages tied to two cannisters - one green and one blue - floating in the water"

"An hour later a police boat attended with blue flashing lights, which was kind of novel for us, and they called it in and confirmed our suspicions. Then we actually managed to catch some fish so it wasn't a bad day...but our biggest haul of the day was probably £1million worth of drugs."

He was aware that police were searching after holdalls filled with drugs were found off Purbeck in Dorset and on an Isle of Wight beach, so he called the coastguard. He waited by the floating drugs until officers arrived in a police boat to remove them from the sea.

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Ron was on his fishing boat with his family near The Needles on Sunday when he spotted the three bundles

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said although it believed all packages had been recovered, more could pop up

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said although it believed all packages had been recovered, more could pop up. Other police search teams were sent to St Catherine 's Point on the Isle of Wight on Saturday afternoon.

Ron said the parcels he found 'were definitely waterproofed and wrapped in bubble wrap'. The NCA has previously confirmed the drugs were believed to have been transported from South America on a merchant ship. In a statement, the agency said "Initial testing indicates the substance recovered as cocaine.

Ron said the parcels he found 'were definitely waterproofed and wrapped in bubble wrap'

"At this time we believe we have recovered all the suspected drugs but the investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement remain vigilant to the possibility that further packages could be recovered."

The purity and quantity involved was still being established. Hundreds of kilos of the illegal drug worth millions of pounds were first found in the sea off St Aldhelm's Point and Durdle Door in Dorset on 2 October by a fisherman. A second batch was found on a beach by litter-pickers on the west coast of the Isle of Wight on Saturday.

Police had been trying to contact one of the group, a man in his 60s, amid fears he walked off with some of the drugs But the litter picker they sought had 'engaged with law enforcement and was not subject to any investigation', the NCA has said.

They have urged anybody who finds a holdall or similar package on the coastline of Dorset, Hampshire or the island to call 999.

Adam Aspinall