Four men charged in connection with €31m West Cork drugs haul
Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit pictured outside Bandon District Court, Co Cork, where four men appeared in connection with a drug seizure in Courtmacsherry. Picture Dan Linehan
Four men have appeared in the district court in connection with the seizure of 440kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than €31 million in West Cork.
The four, Mark Doherty, aged 40, of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland; Levent Gulay, aged 31, of Schwabenstraße, Neu Ulm, Bavaria, Germany; Christopher Hibbett, aged 44, of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, Cornwall, UK and Ben Sanford, aged 39, of Woodgreen, Keith, Moray, Scotland appeared before judge Joanne Carrol at Kinsale District Court sitting in Bandon.
The four men each face two charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, possession of cocaine under Section 3 and possession of cocaine for sale or supply under Section 15.
Detective Garda John McWeeney gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution for Mark Doherty who made no reply when the charges were put to him. Solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said his client would not be making a bail application.
Det. Gda Marguerite Reilly gave evidence of arrest charge and caution for Levent Gulay who was assisted by a German interpreter. Mr Gulay also made no reply to the charges and his solicitor Myra Dinneen did not make a bail application.
Arrest, charge and caution evidence for Ben Sanford was given by Det. Gda Shane Kiely who told the court the accused made no reply to the charges. Solicitor Plunkett Taaffe, acting for Frank Buttimer, said there would be no bail application at present.
Det. Gda Gavin Curran said that when he arrested, charged and cautioned Christopher Hibbett at Togher Garda Station the accused replied: “I’m fucking sorry. That’s it.” Myra Dinneen, acting for his solicitor Eddie Burke, said he would not be applying for bail.
Judge Carroll remanded all four men in custody to appear again at Macroom District Court On July 7.
Mark Doherty and Levent Gulay were arrested on Tuesday, July 1, as part of a Joint Task Force Drugs operation that had been ongoing in Co Cork investigating the activities of an international organised crime group involved in drug smuggling.
Gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau stopped a van in the Courtmacsherry area and cocaine valued in excess of €31million (subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland) was seized by Revenue Customs Service.
Ben Sanford and Christopher Hibbett were arrested on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that departed from Courtmacsherry on July 1 and was intercepted by two Naval Service RIBs dispatched from the L.É. William Butler Yeats off the coast of Waterford.
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