Three Israelis, including one aged 81, have been convicted of running one of the biggest cannabis smuggling operations ever intercepted by British police.
Grandfather Moshe Kedar, 57-year-old Yehezkel Srebro, and 67-year-old Mordechai Hersh, were behind an elaborate plot to bring more than 12 tonnes of the drug, with a street value of £36 million, into the country using a tug boat.
They were caught, alongside nine other men, following extensive surveillance by teams from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and customs officers working on intelligence from Israeli authorities.
The three Israelis were convicted of drug smuggling on Tuesday following a 15-week trial at Winchester Crown Court . Srebro pleaded guilty before the trial, but the other two denied their involvement.
They will be sentenced on Thursday.
More than 400 bales of Moroccan cannabis resin were concealed in ballast, foam and water tanks on the boat. It took officers five days to remove the haul.
Andy Sellers, SOCA deputy director, said: “This operation was a massive success for international and national law enforcement cooperation. The quantity of drugs seized would have resulted in upwards of 3.5 million street deals and would have funded a wide range of other criminal activity.”