Cargo ship raided by gardaí and elite army wing docks in Cork after shots fired on Tuesday 

A Caribbean bulk cargo ship boarded by gardaí and members of the Army Ranger Wing, and containing a large quantity of suspected illegal drugs, docked at the Port of Cork this evening.

The Panamanian-registered vessel, the MV Matthew, had been boarded in the early hours of this morning off the Cork and Waterford coast, following a co-ordinated operation carried out at sea by a joint taskforce comprising members of the Revenue Customs Service, the Naval Service, and An Garda Síochána.

The ship, which was heading into international waters, did not stop when ordered by Irish Naval Service officers on board the LÉ William Butler Yeats, and the Naval Service vessel then fired warning shots.

The MV Matthew was then boarded by armed Army Ranger personnel, who are understood to have abseiled onto the ship from an overhead helicopter in what have been described as challenging weather conditions.

Once the vessel was secured, members of the Irish Navy, the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), and Revenue’s Customs Service were transferred to the ship, which was then escorted to Marino Point.

A statement from the garda press office said a significant quantity of suspected controlled drugs had been located onboard the MV Matthew.

“Three males aged 60, 50 and 31 have been arrested on suspicion of organised crime offences and are currently detained at Garda stations in Wexford,” a spokesperson said.

Upon the cargo vessel’s arrival at Cork Port, it would be subjected to a detailed examination by Revenue Customs and An Garda Síochána, they added.

The ship was impounded just 24 hours after it emerged a trawler that was being monitored on suspicion of carrying drugs had run aground on a sandbank off the Wexford coast late on Sunday night.

The trawler, named the Castlemore, had left Castletownbere in West Cork on Friday night just hours after it had been sold in good faith to an unknown buyer.

It is understood that gardaí suspect the MV Matthew may have rendezvoused with the trawler off the south-east coast on Sunday, before the trawler subsequently ran aground.

In a statement to The Echo, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, praised those involved in the operation.

“I commend all involved in this multi-agency operation, and the bravery of the members of the Defence Forces, our Naval Service and Army Ranger Wing,” he said.

“I have remained in regular contact with the Defence Forces Chief of Staff throughout the operation, and I pay tribute to the close cooperation between the Defence Forces, Naval Service, An Garda Síochána, and Revenue officials.” 

The Tánaiste also stressed the importance of intelligence in the operation and a collective, pan-European response.

He also thanked the Army Chief of Staff for the bravery shown by members of the Defence Forces.

The garda press office said the operation, which had resulted in the impounding of the MV Matthew, had been intelligence-led and had been conducted in collaboration with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC-N), which is based in Lisbon, and partners from the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) and French customs service DNRED.

MAOC-N is an initiative of seven EU member states: France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, with financial support from the Prevention against Crime Programme of the European Union, European Commission - Directorate - General Home Affairs. The centre provides a forum for multi-lateral cooperation to suppress illicit drug trafficking by sea and air.