Two men to appear before Waterford court over multi-million euro drugs seizure

Kenneth Fox

Updated: 4.55pm

Two men are due to appear in court on Friday in connection with a multi-million euro drug seizure off the coast of Cork.

The pair will appear before Waterford District Court shortly before 7pm on Friday evening.

They are charged in connection with the seizure of €157 million worth of cocaine from a cargo ship earlier this week in what was the largest drugs haul in the history of the State.

A total of 2,253 kg of cocaine was found on the Panamanian-registered vessel in a major joint agency operation off the south-east coast of Ireland on Tuesday.

Members of the highly-trained Army Ranger Wing descended by fast-rope from a helicopter on to the MV Matthew as it tried to sail out of Irish waters and evade capture.

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

The vessel had been under surveillance since last Friday when a multi-agency operation responded to intelligence of a major international drug smuggling operation.

Commenting on the seizure, Assistant Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: "I think it’s really important to note, this is the largest drug seizure in the history of the State.

"This is a hugely significant operation, and 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."

Gardaí made four further arrests in connection with the haul on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total number of arrests to seven.