Story of €1bn drugs haul in West Cork re-told in TV documentary

In July, 2007, cocaine with an estimated street value of €1.2 billion washed up on a remote bay in West Cork.

It was one of the most spectacular drug seizures in the world at the time, and the crime is relived in the second episode of three-part series Busted on RTÉ1 on Monday at 9.35pm.

The series uses unique and unprecedented access and in-depth interviews to tell the untold stories of some of the world’s biggest drugs busts, with co-operation for the first time from Defence Forces, Gardaí and Customs.

In that Cork incident 19 years ago, the smugglers came undone when the engine on their boat stalled in rough seas after they filled it with diesel instead of petrol.

The drugs washed up near Mizen Head and Dunlough Bay.

What followed led to a huge manhunt to track down and prosecute the British gang responsible for this staggering drugs haul.

At that time, it was among the top 10 largest single hauls of cocaine in the world, and 61 bales of cocaine were recovered from the sea. A final bale was discovered some five months later, and was the inspiration for The Young Offenders movie.

A powerful new documentary sets out to challenge and change how we think and talk about autism and ADHD by spotlighting people with lived experience of neurodivergence.

Called Neurodivergence – The Making Of Me, it airs on RTÉ1 on Thursday at 10.15pm, and includes input from a Cork man, Mike Ward.

Mike, who lives with his wife Therese and four young children, was diagnosed with ADHD aged 41. It came as a huge relief and for the first time he could make sense of his world.