Dutch pair charged in Britain after cocaine haul seized from boat

London: A pair of Dutch nationals appeared in a British court on Saturday after authorities seized one of their largest-ever hauls of cocaine, aboard a yacht off the south-west coast. Maarten Peter Pieterse, 59, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, 44, appeared via video-link at Bristol Magistrates´ Court in south-west England charged with drug importation offences. Pieterse did not enter a plea, while Schoemaker pleaded not guilty. They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear next in court on August 20. The two were arrested Thursday after the Netherlands-registered boat that they were travelling on was intercepted by a Border Force cutter 120 miles (193 kilometres) off the far southwestern county of Cornwall. Officers discovered an estimated two tonnes of cocaine, wrapped in plastic bagging in a compartment beneath the decking area at the rear of the vessel, the SY Marcia, Britain´s National Crime Agency (NCA) said in a statement. Its National Maritime Intelligence Centre aided the operation alongside a European analysis and operations centre for narcotics in Lisbon and law enforcement partners in Portugal, France and the Netherlands.