Two men jailed for importing cannabis worth £1.4m

Two Spanish men caught on a boat carrying cannabis resin worth £1.4m were jailed by the Supreme Court on Monday, one for four years, the other for three and five months.

Pedro Alexis Bermudez Rodriguez, 59, and Leopoldo Otero Moreno, 34, both resident in Cadiz province, admitted importation and possession of 284.5kg of cannabis resin.

The two were arrested on April 22, 2026, after personnel at Windmill Hill signal station spotted a suspect vessel heading from Ceuta into Gibraltar waters.

Customs officers on HMC Searcher intercepted and boarded the vessel, where they found seven bales of cannabis resin.

Bermudez, the coxswain, and Otero, a passenger, were both arrested and the vessel and drugs seized.

In sentencing, Puisne Judge Matthew Happold acknowledged the arguments presented to the court both in mitigation and as aggravating factors.

Bermudez said he had carried the drugs out of necessity because he was unable to work or access benefits.

He had been approached by criminal acquaintances because he had a boat licence and had ferried drugs once before.

The court heard he had served time in prison in Spain for transporting 110kg of cannabis resin from Ceuta to Spain.

Expressing remorse, Bermudez told the court he was paid 1000 euros up front and had been promised a further 4000 euros after delivery.

Otero had been working as a pumpman on ships but had no permanent contract and had hoped to move with his family to Germany to find work.

He participated in the drugs run to raise money for the move and claimed he and Bermudez were to have been paid 11,000 euros in total.

In a letter to the judge, Otero also expressed remorse for his actions and said he had never been involved in the drugs trade previously.

In a separate letter, his wife spoke well of him as a family man to her and their two young children.

Mr Justice Happold said the starting point for the offence was a prison term of between five and seven years but applied a third discount to both men for their early guilty pleas.

He also noted other factors including previous convictions and the role that each man played.

On the charge of importation of a controlled drug, he sentenced Bermudez to four years in prison and Otero to three years and five months.

Mr Justice Happold imposed no separate penalty for the charge of possession of a controlled drug.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the vessel and destruction of the drugs, with the Crown also seeking confiscation orders against both men. The latter matter has been postponed for six months.

Prosecutor James Lennane appeared for the Crown and Imogen Lawson-Cruttenden for the defendants.