A MAN HAS been jailed for 28 years after being found guilty of masterminding a plot to import some 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in to the UK.

The plot was foiled by Irish authorities – including Gardaí, the Revenue and the Naval Service – five years ago after they intercepted the yacht ‘Dances with Waves’ 172 miles south west of Mizen Head off the west coast of Ireland.

A court in Birmingham today found John Alan Brooks guilty of conspiracy to import the €400 million worth of cocaine from Venezuela to Liverpool and he was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Gardaí today said that a large amount of evidence presented at his trial was collected by an investigation team stationed in Bantry which arrested three men after ‘Dances with Waves’ was intercepted in November 2008.

The three men – David Brian Mufford, Philip Samuel Doo and Christopher Wiggins – were later sentenced to 10 years each for their role in the plot at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in May 2009.

The investigation also later identified Brooks as having been behind the plot.

During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Garda assistant commissioner Tony Quilter was among those who gave evidence for the prosecution.