A leading gang member of the largest cocaine smuggling operation to target Britain was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday, the BBC reported.
Hilton John Van Staden, a 52-year-old South African, pleaded guilty on Friday at Bristol Crown Court in west England to conspiracy of importing drugs.
Fifteen people have been convicted worldwide and customs officers said they have disrupted a major global trafficking ring.
Sentences totaling 206 years have already been handed out following a massive customs operation involving South America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Judge John Foley told Staden he would not be considered for parole until he had served half of his sentence, and would probably not be released until he had served at least two-thirds.
In 1996 an Irish vessel called the Sea Mist, destined for the UK, was searched by customs officials in Cork.
Officials found nearly 600 kilos of cocaine, triggering an international intelligence operation. Over a six-year period 15 people were arrested and convicted in Britain and abroad.
Staden was arrested in London in March 2000 when he tried to access a safety deposit box, in which he kept about 500,000 pounds (US$725,000) in cash and contact details for the other members of the drugs smuggling gang.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2002)
