Record drugs haul off Irish coast

Irish navy personnel have recovered cocaine worth over €600M from a yacht apprehended about 320 Km off the south west Irish coast. The yacht was crewed by 3 middle aged men one travelling on an Irish passport and was en route from South America to England. It seems that the craft “Dances with waves” was tracked by security services along its route by satellite and that the Irish forces moved in when the yacht was buffeted by high winds and heavy seas. The craft was boarded as it seems the crew were in danger and they offered no resistance to the navy personnel. The craft left Trinidad about 3 weeks ago and rendezvoused in the ocean with another as yet unidentified craft that departed from mainland South America. The operation to interdict the yacht was led by Irish personnel in conjunction with the EU MAOC officers.

The crew were taken off and brought ashore at Castletown Bere where they were questioned by Gardaí (Irish Police). The 3 British nationals were charged with being in possession of a drug with intent to supply to others and were remanded in custody while the book of evidence is being prepared. The cocaine was of high purity (80-85%) and weighed 1.5 tonnes. The haul was removed to Dublin for laboratory analysis while the yacht is at present to extensive forensic investigation. The inquiry has extended to include police forces outside the state in an attempt to build a profile of the operation. The drugs were believed to be destined for the British and Irish market. It is believed that the cache was organised by a midland criminal in the UK who has strong connections with members of the Irish criminal fraternity at present living in the south of Spain The yacht was British registered until recently when it was de-registered.

The arrests follow a recent conviction of 4 other British nationals who were arrested in West Cork in July 2007 after their drugs importation attempt failed when their haul ended up in the sea. The Irish coast is seen as a vulnerable point in the fight against drugs importation because of it’s relative isolated nature. The catamaran involved in this attempt also followed the same route.