Drugs gang jailed over £300m plot

22 June 2012 Last updated at 12:21 ET

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Footage taken aboard the yacht shows the extent of the haul

A gang leader and his son who used a luxury yacht to smuggle cocaine with a street value of 300m into the UK from Venezuela have been jailed.

The pair, from the Netherlands, hid a tonne of cocaine in a deep compartment specially designed for smuggling.

The haul - one of the UK's biggest drugs seizures - was located by border officers in Southampton last year.

The men were jailed along with a third man, but the gang leader's other son was acquitted after a trial.

Defendants referred to in court only as Klaas L, Robert L and Mohamed Z were convicted of being involved in the transportation of cocaine.

Their co-accused, Arjan L, 35, was acquitted of the same charge.

Klaas L, 61, owner of the yacht, was jailed for seven years; Mohamed Z, 45, for eight years; and Robert L, 33, who was also convicted of possession of a firearm, for five years following a trial in Rotterdam.

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Drugs gang jailed over £300m plot