Colombia's biggest drug cartel linked to haul off Cork coast

The seizure of the drugs followed a dramatic military operation in which elite special forces descended from a helicopter onto the moving cargo vessel in hostile weather conditions.

It is understood the gang's intention was to load the consignment, using a crane on the MV Matthew, onto a trawler and land it in Ireland, for onward dispersal.

This plan collapsed after the fishing trawler, being navigated by what various sources describe as inexperienced sailors, failed to reach the cargo vessel because of bad weather and ended up running aground off the Wexford coast.

Security sources said the possibility that crew members on the cargo ship might be armed and could open fire on the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) or the helicopter carrying them was a "significant consideration" — though this did not happen.

There are “possible tentative links” to the Kinahan cartel in terms of its network or logistic links in Ireland, but this is being probed.

Numerous sources said the cargo ship was purely used to traffic cocaine and, unlike other drug ships traversing the Atlantic, did not carry legitimate cargo.

Sources also confirmed reports, carried in the Irish Examiner, that crew members attempted to burn the cocaine and throw it into life rafts as the elite ARW fast roped down onto the ship.

The soldiers put out the fires and only some outer packaging was melted. 

Sources believe that crew members did not manage to dispose of any of the cocaine.

Gardaí suspect that the trawler that ran aground off the Wexford coast on Sunday night was due to take all 2.25 tonnes of cocaine and land it in Ireland.

From there, investigators suspect much of it would be transported into the North and onto Britain with an unknown quantity — at least a couple hundred kilos — staying for the Irish market.

It is understood that the 25-strong crew comprises Colombian, British, Ukrainian and Iranian nationals.

The captain, from Iran, was evacuated from the vessel before the drug operation on foot of a medical emergency.

Other crew members tried to manoeuvre the vessel away from the Irish Naval Service.

The captain was arrested on Tuesday and the two men in the trawler, one English and one Eastern European, were arrested on Monday.

Gardaí last night confirmed a further three men had been arrested for "alleged organised crime offences". They were held under section 50 Criminal Justice Act.

Officers from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, assisted by members of the Cork divisional units, are conducting interviews with the crew.

At a press conference, Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly, Organised and Serious Crime, said a “murderous” South American cartel was involved in supplying the cocaine.

He said given the scale of the load, a number of European gangs would have been involved, including Irish criminals, but declined to say which gang was suspected.

Asst Comm Kelly said there were “a number of groups” within Ireland, not just the Kinahan cartel, who have direct links to South America and have the capability of importing large quantities of cocaine.

Sources have told the Irish Examiner there has been a significant increase in the number of Irish criminals travelling to Colombia to make connections with both producers and traffickers, such as Balkan gangs and Mexican cartels.

Balkan cartels, predominantly Albanian networks, are estimated by Irish and European police to be taking an increasingly dominant position in cocaine importation into Europe.