In December 2004, a container of coconuts concealing 500Kg of cocaine was intercepted by customs at Tilbury docks. It was the largest seizure of cocaine ever in the UK. However, as part of a sting operation, customs replaced the drugs with wood blocks and allowed it to be delivered as normal.
Andrew Pritchard, a self confessed smuggler, was among those that met the consignment. Caught red-handed, he was arrested on the scene.
MacIntyre experiences the tensions of the court case through unprecedented access to Pritchard’s girlfriend, Amber. With her partner facing 35 years in prison, she decided to support him through the court case. It's an incredibly difficult relationship as her only regular contact with Andrew is through an illegal mobile phone he has had smuggled into the prison.
Cocaine and Coconuts is a very human story which follows the couple fighting for their lives through a trial full of intrigue, superstition and a whiff of corruption too.
