All I am is a fisherman. That's all I'm guilty of, Your Honour.
On 31 May 2010 eleven holdalls were discovered along the shore near
Freshwater on the Isle of Wight; when opened they contained £53m worth
of cocaine - the biggest haul ever found in UK waters. A local fishing
crew was accused of waiting in the Channel for the bags to be thrown
from a passing cargo ship in an operation allegedly masterminded by a
local scaffolder.
The Freshwater Five is a true story that cuts to the heart of the
British judicial system. Did five men really attempt one of the world's
biggest drug smuggling operations - or were they simply in the wrong
place, at the wrong time? Why did the police hastily alter key
surveillance statements, why were logs blacked out or mysteriously left
empty - and why was crucial evidence never disclosed at trial? All five
men fiercely denied the allegations, but a jury rejected their version
of the events.
This is the story of what actually happened as told by the skipper of
the crew. It's a story that reveals the human misery of brutal prison
sentences and a story that leaves the reader with one question: Does the
British legal system really dispense justice?