Two men in custody after boat with suspected cocaine ran aground in Wexford

Cillian Sherlock, PA

Updated at 10.25pm

A trawler which ran aground off the coast of Wexford on Sunday night is believed to have been carrying tens of millions of euro worth of cocaine.

Two foreign nationals remain in custody on Tuesday after being rescued from the boat, which was sailing from Castletownbere in West Cork to Devon in England.

The Defence Forces, Garda units and the Coast Guard are currently involved in a major operation in Wexford.

It is understood that a Garda drug unit is involved in the operation and two people are assisting investigators with their enquiries.

As the Irish Examiner reports, a rescue operation that lasted several hours led to the rescue of the two men in a multiagency exercise involving the Coastguard, the RNLI, gardaí, and the navy.

The two men were winched from the trawler onto a naval vessel and taken to safety.

It is believed the trawler was already on the radar of gardaí and the navy, who were tracking the vessel as it progressed along the south and southeast coast.

On Monday evening, a spokesperson said Gardaí are engaged in a “live operation”.

The Defence Forces described its response as ongoing.