Gardaí secure 72-hour extension to detain 10 men arrested in West Cork

Gardaí have been granted a 72-hour extension to the detention of 10 men arrested in West Cork on Thursday morning.

The 10 individuals, aged from their 20s to 50s, appeared in front of Judge James McNulty at a special sitting of Bandon District Court this evening.

Chief Superintendent Vincent O’Sullivan of Cork West and Cork North Division told the court that it was his intention to apply for a warrant authorising the further detention of each of the 10 individuals to further assist with Garda investigations for a period of detention not exceeding 72 hours.

Inspector John O’Connell from Mallow Garda Station said that each of the 10 individuals would appear separately in court for operational reasons.

All the men had legal representation in court and interpreters were also provided.

Chief Supt O’Sullivan said that the 10 men are currently being held at various Garda stations in Co Cork under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

Judge McNulty granted the 72-hour extension in the case of all 10 men and they were removed from Bandon Courthouse amid tight security.

Gardaí resumed their interviews with the men at various stations in Co Cork last night.

The men — six Spaniards, two Dutch men, one Serbian, and one man from Co Fermanagh — were arrested when gardaí stopped a camper van in Leap village, and later stopped a 4X4 and an articulated lorry at Tragumna at around 7.30am on Thursday.

A high-powered rigid inflatable boat (RIB) is also believed to have been seized as part of the operation.

The arrests are understood to be drug-related, with detectives believing the men were part of an aborted drug delivery off the south coast.

A rendezvous with a larger vessel off the West Cork coast is believed to have been abandoned after the RIB was put to sea at Tragumna.

No drugs have been recovered.