A plea hearing for two men accused of smuggling £37 million worth of cocaine into Suffolk has been adjourned until next month.

Bruce Knowles, 55, from Dereham, and Ferhat Gumrukguoglu, 31, from the Netherlands, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, July 23.

The pair were arrested after a rigid hulled inflatable boat was intercepted off the coast near Benacre Broad, just south of Lowestoft, on June 24 this year.

(Image: National Crime Agency)

The operation, which was part of a National Crime Agency investigation, resulted in 350 kilos of cocaine being found hidden under tarpaulin.

Investigators believe the vessel had travelled out to sea where it had met a larger ship and collected the drugs.

Gumrukguoglu and Knowles are accused of being involved in the illegal importation of a controlled drug.

They were due to enter pleas to the charge on Tuesday but defence barristers requested an adjournment to allow them to consider the evidence in the case and to take instructions from their clients.

Judge Emma Peters agreed to adjourn the case until August 20.

The defendants are in custody.