Two men have admitted attempting to import £37m of cocaine after they were intercepted with the drugs in a boat off the Suffolk coast.

Bruce Knowles, 55, from Dereham, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 31, from the Netherlands, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, August 20.

The pair were arrested after a rigid hulled inflatable boat was intercepted off the coast near Benacre Broad, just south of Lowestoft, on June 24 this year.

Both pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of Class A drugs.

The operation, which was part of a National Crime Agency investigation, resulted in 350 kilos of cocaine being found hidden under tarpaulin.

Investigators believe the vessel had travelled out to sea where it had met a larger ship and collected the drugs.

The defendants have been remanded in custody and the sentencing date will be decided during a hearing due to be held on 1 November.

NCA operations manager Paul Orchard previously said: “This is a very significant seizure of cocaine and will be a huge loss for the organised crime group involved in smuggling it into the UK.

“With thanks to our partners in Border Force, we have been able to remove these dangerous drugs from the market before they reached the streets of the UK, where they would undoubtedly have fuelled further crime and exploitation.

“This seizure is a great example of joint working to disrupt criminal activity and protect the public from serious and organised crime.”