CORRUPTION AT THE DOCKS: Port worker helped crime gang smuggle in 1.2 tonnes of cocaine worth £90m hidden in bananas

A corrupt port worker helped an organised crime group try to smuggle more than 1.2 tonnes of cocaine into the UK.

But, officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) had been watching the gang for two months and were ready to swoop.

The operation took place at Sheerness Port in Kent in December 2021, and saw more than a hundred officers move in on the gang as they attempted to recover the drugs from a container.

The drugs, which had an estimated street value of more than £90 million, had arrived on a vessel from Costa Rica and were hidden inside a shipment of bananas.

The shipment had been arranged by gang leaders Danny Laird, 41, (above left) from Buntingford in Hertfordshire, and Joel McCaughey, 34, from Manchester.

However, they were unaware they had been the subject of a two-month surveillance operation by the NCA, whose officers watched as a series of meetings took place at pubs, cafes and service stations to organise the importation and recover the drugs.

In late November 2021, McCaughey (above right with Woodward) flew to Costa Rica to oversee the loading of the cocaine into a container. Text messages later found on his phone by the NCA showed he stood to make £400,000 from the venture.

McCaughey arrived back in the country to lead four other members of the group as they attempted to recover the drugs.

They included Darren Laurie, 53, (above right) of no fixed abode, who had trained Michael Turner, 57, (above right) Kyle Davidson, 33, (above left) and Ian Woodward, 36, all from Hertfordshire, to use a forklift truck they had purchased.

In the early hours of 20 December 2021, the gang arrived at the port in two vans and were waved through a security checkpoint by corrupt security guard Sam Elphick, 30, from Sheerness (main top image and being arrested above).

As they used the fork lift to access the container carrying the drugs, armed officers from the NCA and Kent Police moved in to make the arrests.

A short time later Laird, who was already electronically tagged for other unrelated offences, was arrested by the NCA at his home address in Buntingford.

Six men were charged with conspiring to import class A drugs, and all pleaded guilty, while Elphick pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

On November 29 2024, a judge at Maidstone Crown Court sentenced Turner to 11 years; Laurie to 12 years and four months; Davidson to 10 years; Woodward to 11 years and three months; Laird to 14 years and eight months and McCaughey to 13 years and four months.

Elphick was sentenced to two years.

NCA operations manager Paul Orchard said: “The NCA has stopped a significant amount of drugs from reaching the streets of the UK, and completely dismantled this organised crime group who were using a corrupt port worker to circumvent border controls.

“Sam Elphick was recruited specifically for his knowledge of Sheerness Port and the security systems.

“This kind of knowledge and access are like gold dust to organised crime, and it is why stopping corrupt insiders and the threat they pose are a priority for us.”

Dave Smith, Border Force South East Regional Director, said: “Thanks to the remarkable work by NCA, Kent Police and Border Force, we stopped over £90 million worth of cocaine flooding into our communities.

“We are working endlessly to prevent drug smuggling, and this seizure, and others like it, sends a clear message to criminal gangs that we remain committed to tackling these despicable drug supply chains.”

The operation at Sheerness, which was also supported by Border Force and the port operator Peel Ports, is part of ongoing NCA activity using Home Office Drug Strategy funding to protect the security and integrity of the UK border at ports and airports.

Videos show Elphick opening the gate at the security checkpoint to allow other members of the gang entry in their vans; CCTV showing the moment NCA and police move in on the gang as they attempt to retrieve the drugs and the moment of Elphick’s arrest by NCA in the security gatehouse.

Pictures include images of the drugs seized during the Dec 2021 operation, the gang’s vans and forklift in situ following their arrest and surveillance images taken by the NCA prior to the arrests.