Today in Focus: Freshwater | The Guardian
Cold Case Crime Cuts | Apple podcasts
Renegades: Born in the USA | Spotify
Between the Ears: Concrete Paris | Radio 3/ BBC Sounds
This is a strange one: a true-crime cold case set among lobster fishers in the Channel. In 2011, the so-called Freshwater Five were convicted of conspiracy to smuggle drugs. A gobsmacking amount of drugs: 250kg of cocaine, with a street value of £53m.
On 29 May 2010, four of the five – Jamie Green, Daniel Payne, Scott Birtwistle and Zoran Dresic – went out to sea from the Isle of Wight in a force 8 gale. They said they were lobster fishing; the police said they were picking up a consignment of cocaine from another boat, and that they then hid the drugs in Freshwater Bay, off the Isle of Wight coast. The fifth man, Jon Beere, was alleged to have been involved because he picked up Dresic and brought him to work on the boat. All five were convicted and sentenced to 104 years between them. Last Tuesday, an appeal against the convictions began at the court of appeal.