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EIGHT MEN HAVE been sentenced to a range of prison terms ranging from 13 years to 20 years for their part in Ireland’s biggest ever drugs seizure.
The men were all arrested after a spectacular Garda, Revenue Customs and Defence Forces operation targeting the MV Matthew bulk carrier cargo ship and the Castlemore trawler off the east and south coasts in September 2023.
Army Ranger Wing (ARW) special forces operators fastroped from a helicopter onto the deck of the MV Matthew off Waterford on 26 September 2023.
Previously Detective Superintendent Keith Halley, who led the investigation, outlined the facts. He had been the garda liaison with the Joint Task Force and worked closely with Revenue Customs.
He told the court that an intelligence led operation by gardaí and customs, the ARW along with the naval ship LÉ William Butler Yeats were deployed. They seized the ship which was running for the Atlantic and heading to the African country of Sierra Leone as their plan to smuggle 2.2 tonnes or €157m worth of cocaine fell apart.
The MV Matthew was bought by an organised crime group for the sole aim of smuggling the drugs to Ireland.
The accused were identified after a lengthy investigation which included the downloading a phones and chat groups they were using to communicate with crime gang handlers in Dubai.
The accused from the Matthew are: Iranian Saied Hassani (39), Filipino Harold Estoesta (31), Ukrainian Mykhailo Gavryk (32), Ukrainian Vitali Vlasoi (32), Iranian ship’s captain Soheil Jelveh (51) and Dutch Cumali Ozgen (49).
The men on the Castlemore were Ukrainian Vitaliy Lapa (62) and UK Jamie Harbron (31).
They had pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to offences specific to the commission of offences under drug trafficking act.
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