MV Matthew: Eight men sentenced over Ireland's biggest cocaine seizure
The highest jail terms were given to Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, who was jailed for 20 years, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, who was jailed for 18 years.The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023, after the ship failed to stop following warning shots. In February 2025, four men - Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, 32, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, 32; Iranian Soheil Jelveh, 51, and Dutch national 49-year-old Cumali Ozgen - pleaded guilty to having 2.2 tonnes of cocaine for supply on board the ship.
Two other defendants - Iranian Saeid Hassani, 39, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31 - had also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Matthew.
Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, and UK national Jamie Harbron, 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, County Durham, also pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply in September 2023 in relation to the same shipment.
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