€157m of suspected cocaine seized from MV Matthew in 'largest drug seizure in the history of the State'

Customs officers have seized 2,253 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine, worth in the region of €157 million, from the MV Matthew cargo vessel following a major operation. 

The Panamanian-registered vessel had been boarded by gardaí and members of the Army Ranger Wing off the Cork and Waterford coast yesterday 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.

Speaking at a briefing in Dublin today,  a spokesman for An Garda Siochana described the seizure as "the largest drug seizure in the history of the State.”

Assistant Commissioner with An Garda Siochana Justin Kelly described the action as “hugely significant”.

Mr Kelly, from the Organised and Serious Crime Unit, said: “It shows our unrelenting determination to disrupt and dismantle networks, which are determined to bring drugs into our country.

“These groups are transnational groups. They are working all across the world and, because of that, we need to work with our international partners.” He added: “This is a huge hit for the people involved in this.” Investigators believe not all the drugs were destined for Ireland.

Members of the highly trained Army Ranger Wing descended by fast-rope from a helicopter onto the ship on Tuesday, which became the focus point of a multi-agency operation which began on Friday.

The co-ordinated response from the Irish Naval Service and Army Ranger Wing also involved customs officers and the Irish police’s national drugs and organised crime unit.

The agencies said the seized MV Matthew is a Panamanian-registered bulk cargo vessel originating in South America.

It was intercepted by the Army Ranger Wing and detained in the early hours of Tuesday.

The elite unit boarded the ship after the Naval Service’s patrol vessel, the LE William Butler Yeats, fired warning shots in its direction.

Two helicopters and two planes were also involved in the operation.

The Irish Air Corps and Naval Service had been tracking the container ship over a number of days.

Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly said, that while the value of the seized drugs was assessed as €157 million upon seizure, the value could have increased depending on what would have happened had it entered other European markets.

Revenue Commissioner and the director general of customs Gerry Harrahill said the value could be trebled based on what the organised crime gang had intended to “cut it down” at a later date.

Mr Harrahill said it was too early to give a figure for the purity of the cocaine.

Mr Kelly said Irish assets have “never been found short” when there is an operation to be mounted in Irish waters.

Asked about the scale of the operation, Irish Naval Service Commander Tony Geraghty said: “Yesterday was certainly unique insofar as it’s the first time that the Army Ranger Wing have been employed from that particular context.

“And that was literally just a function of the environmentals, if the weather had been in our favour, we would have been in a position to embark our onboarding team.”