FOUR East Lancashire men are due to stand trial for their alleged involvement in an international drugs smuggling conspiracy.

They have been charged, along with a Brazilian woman and three Dutch men, with cocaine importation after £4.5million worth of the drug was seized in a raid by Customs and Excise officers on a yacht off the coast of South Wales.

Along with the 90kg of cocaine, 100 rounds of live ammunition was allegedly found at the home of one of the accused in Hapton.

James Downie, 44, of Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors; Lee Morgan, 40, of Hodder Avenue, Hapton; Stephen John Haggerty, 46, and Paul Jorgensen, 44, both of Springhill Road, Accrington all appeared before Preston Crown Court yesterday.

They were in court along with Brazilian Odezia Silva, 30, and Dutch nationals Erwin Kapitien 37, Johan Adolph Ranft, 39, and Gerhard Ranft, 33.

All eight have been charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to evade import duty.

Downie is also charged with possession of 100 rounds of .22 ammunition and possessing three rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Silva and the three Dutch men pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced at a later date.

The four East Lancashire men have yet to enter a plea but a date has been set for a four-week trial beginning on March 5 and they have been remanded in custody until the trial.

Customs and Excise officers seized the drugs haul after they boarded a yacht 100 miles off the South Wales coast in May.

It is alleged that a 45ft yacht, Samba Pa T, had originally sailed from Brazil before meeting with another craft off the coast of Trinidad when 90kgs of cocaine was taken on board.

As well as the arrests on board the yacht, other arrests were made in Freshwater Bay, Pembrokeshire.

Here it is believed that the arrests on the shore prevented a rendezvous between the yacht and a rigid inflatable boat which had allegedly been towed down on a trailer by road from Accrington and launched from the beach.