NATIONAL Crime Agency officers investigating a plot to smuggle £18.4-million worth of cocaine in an inflatable boat off the Cornish coast have arrested an eighth man.

Seven men were convicted and jailed for more than 130 years in total in August and September, after pleading guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.

Three of the men collected cocaine at sea and were arrested on Gwynver Beach, Penzance, in September last year after their inflatable boat ran aground following an hour-long pursuit by Border Force who were chasing the boat for 28 miles across the sea.

Officers had spotted their RHIB on the horizon while carrying out an operation off the coast of Newquay.

The remaining four men were arrested later that same year, after NCA officers identified they helped organise collection of the cocaine.

Investigators who have continued to make enquiries have this morning (Thursday, October 30) arrested a man in his early 50s in Cosham, Portsmouth on suspicion of conspiracy to import a Class A drug.

The man has been taken into custody at a local police station. Officers are currently searching two addresses in connection with the investigation – one in Cosham and another in Southsea.

Senior investigating officer, Barry Vinall, leading the NCA’s investigation, said: “Cocaine is one of the most harmful illegal drugs in the UK. The National Crime Agency and Border Force are working relentlessly to stop cocaine making it from sea to shore, and to identify every individual involved in trying to bring it into the country.”