MarketOffshore off-licence
Company Profile

Offshore off-licence

The offshore off-licence is the name coined by the media to describe a 2004 venture to bring "tax- and duty-free" alcohol and cigarettes to Teesside, England, by selling the imported goods from a boat anchored just outside the UK's 12-mile limit. Two businessmen, Phil Berriman and Trevor Lyons, a maritime law expert, used the latter's 72-foot staysail schooner Rich Harvest to transport large quantities of cigarettes and spirits from Heligoland to Hartlepool. The vessel was anchored a little more than 12 miles offshore, and people from Hartlepool came out in private boats to buy the untaxed goods. Customers would then ostensibly be allowed to bring their purchases into the UK using their duty-free allowance.

Cape Verde
Around 2016, the schooner was stolen and taken to Brazil, where she was loaded with over a tonne of cocaine. She then sailed to the Cape Verde islands, crewed by young amateur yachtsmen who had signed on without pay to gain ocean experience. On arrival at Cape Verde, the crew (who claimed to be unaware of the presence of any contraband cargo) were arrested, convicted and given heavy jail sentences. The families began a campaign and this issue became a cause célébre. Eventually the Cape Verde authorities were satisfied that the crew were indeed innocent, and they were released from jail. A 2024 BBC TV investigation, "Finding Mr Fox" looked into the identity of George Saul, alias "Mr Fox". The film showed that after the Customs seized the vessel was seized and found to have drugs aboard, Rich Harvest somehow sank in Mindelo harbour, on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde, even though the yacht was in the care and custody of the authorities == Further reading ==
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