This is the moment two Merseyside drug smugglers were caught trying to sneak across a river by armed Ukranian border officials.
Lance Kennedy and Robert Stewart into the UK using helicopters.
They were jailed today after being extradited from Moldova following their capture earlier this year.
Kennedy, a top-tier international drug trafficker, organised helicopter drug runs from Belgium to southern England.
The 32-year-old after being linked to six flights that dropped a combined total of just under 500kgs of cocaine into the country.
His associates would book rural holiday homes on the flight paths, unload the drugs then distribute them to gangs across England and Scotland.
Stewart was among that crew until he fled the UK while on bail over a different cocaine plot.
He was later jailed in his absence for three years for that scheme.
By that time the 38-year-old had travelled to the other side of the world to meet up with Kennedy in Thailand.
Little is known about what they did next until they emerged in eastern Europe in February.
The pair paid a Moldovan man to help them cross the Dnister River into Ukraine but were halted by border officials armed with guns.
Dramatic footage obtained by the ECHO showed them being marched at gunpoint after their capture by a team from the Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky border unit.
The Ukrainian authorities also released pictures showing the pair being detained by gun-wielding troops in a field and sat handcuffed against a wall lined with rugs.
Stewart is pictured being held against a wall as he is searched, the operation revealing a Three Lions England tattoo on his right calf.
Kennedy and Stewart - whose nickname is Ferry - were caught near the Ukrainian village of Yas'ky, not far from the the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Following their capture they were banned from entering Ukraine for five years and handed to officials in Moldova.
From there they after admitting conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Kennedy and Stewart, both of no fixed abode but formerly of Birkenhead, were jailed for 18 years and four months and 13 years and eight months respectively.
Faces of the helicopter drugs gang
(All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs apart from Campbell, Payne and Fraser, who were convicted after trial and Maddocks, who acted as a money launderer).
The kingpin
Lance Kennedy, 32 and of no fixed abode but formerly of Birkenhead.
Led the conspiracy by arranging the importation of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine by helicopter.
He recruited others to work for him and oversaw the distribution of drugs across the UK once they had been imported. Jailed for 18 years and four months.
Courier 1
Robert “Ferry” Stewart, 38 and of no fixed abode, but also formerly of Birkenhead.
Travelled the UK picking up cash and dropping off drugs. Fled while on bail for a second cocaine and cannabis plot in the North East which he was sentenced to three years for in his absence.
A courier for the gang, he met up with Kennedy and was arrested with him on the border of Moldova and Ukraine in February. Jailed for 13 years and eight months.
The financial backer
Paris Newcombe, 46 and of Beverley Road in New Ferry.
Supplied Kennedy with money and rented one of the cottages for a drugs drop off.
He had a close connection to Kennedy and supplied Alison and Connor Fraser-Clark with a van to deliver drugs and pick up cash.
Jailed for 12 years and eight months.
Transport organiser
Jay “Flip-Flop” Robinson, 31 and of Beckwith Street, Birkenhead. Drove a Honda that contained concealed compartments and delivered drugs, predominately to the North East.
Linked to four of the helicopter drops and was said to have directed the ground operation of at least one of them.
Jailed for 14 years.
The "safety guy"
Phillip Smart, 29 and of Somerville Close in Birkenhead.
Had close contact with the gang's couriers and referred to as "the safety guy" because of his concern for the drugs being transported.
Jailed for 14 years and three months.
The minder
Connor Fraser-Clark, 27 and of Hassal Road in Rock Ferry.
Stored drugs and encrypted phones at his home and delivered drugs and picked up cash on behalf of the gang.
Oversaw the movements of his dad John Fraser and was arrested in North Yorkshire with £210,630 in his vehicle.
A later raid on his house led to the discovery of 16kgs of cocaine given a street value of £11m.
Jailed for 11 years and four months.
His heavily pregnant wife
Alison Fraser-Clark, 23 and of Elmswood Road in Tranmere. Arrested alongside husband Connor.
Went on trips for the gang with Connor and, while heavily pregnant with his daughter recruited a friend to take her place.
After giving birth quickly returned to the road on behalf of the gang.
The judge accepted she had a background of mental illness and that she was young when involved and is now remorseful.
Jailed for eight years and eight months.
Courier 2
Matthew Payne, 33 and of Sewell Road in Abbey Wood, London.
Acted as a courier for the gang and whose role was overseen by Kennedy.
His role came to an end when he was stopped with 60kgs of cannabis in his vehicle in a separate conspiracy.
Jailed for 11 years.
The lookout and Stewart's "right hand man"
David Campbell, 66 and of Woodchurch Road in Prenton.
Effectively Stewart’s right-hand man, Campbell travelled the UK with him and acted as his lookout at times.
Jailed for 12 years.
"Trusted courier" and Conor's dad
John Fraser, 60 and of Hassal Road, Rock Ferry.
A trusted courier, he was overseen by his son and daughter-in-law, Connor and Alison Fraser-Clark.
He was involved in the conspiracy for two months.
Jailed for 10 years.
Drugs courier and money collector
Russell Ford, 28 and of Glan Y Gros, Prestatyn.
A drugs courier and money collector.
Police found £70,000 in his car on one stop.
Jailed for seven years and eight months.
Money launderer
Steven Maddocks, 32, of Platt Grove, Rock Ferry.
Jailed for four years for acting as the gang's money launderer.
"This evil trade is unquantifiable"
Following the conclusion of the sentencing, Cleveland Police’s Detective Sergeant John Fitzpatrick, who lead on Operation Spoonbill, said: “This was a complex enquiry and the sentences reflect the scale of the conspiracy which was uncovered by our Organised Crime Unit.
“These individuals took lengthy and complex steps to mask their criminality, which was controlled from abroad.
“The volume of Class A drugs attributable to this group within the conspiracy period is huge and the damage caused locally and nationally by this evil trade is unquantifiable.
“We will now focus our attentions on these individuals to recoup their ill-gotten gains and continue to target their customer-base who peddle in misery.”
