Video showing how gardai tracked €115m cocaine shipment on MV Matthew is released
The clip also details a series of messages send by an organised crime gang in Dubai directed the crew of the vessel.
On Friday, eight men were jailed by the Special Criminal Court for their roles the record haul for a combined 129 years.
The longest sentence imposed was against Dutch national Cumali Ozgen (50), who received a 20-year sentence. Ms Justice Greally said Ozgen had the closest connection to the Dubai-based criminal organisation that planned and funded the operation and that stood to gain from its success.
Ozgen, along with Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk (32) and Vitaliy Vlasoi (33); Iranians Soheil Jelveh (52) and Saeid Hassani (39) and Filipino Harold Estoesta (31); previously pleaded guilty that between September 24 and 26 2023, both dates inclusive, at locations outside the State, on board the vessel "MV Matthew" they possessed cocaine for sale or supply contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations. The drugs have been valued at €157 million.
Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa (62), with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, and Jamie Harbron (31) of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK pleaded guilty that on dates between September 21 and 25, 2023, at a location within the State, they attempted to possess cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying to another.
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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Defence Forces hunted cocaine ship MV Matthew for five days
The Defence Forces operation to seize the MV Matthew came within feet of disaster – and only the skill of an Air Corps pilot saved the day. Sources say the Air Corps helicopter that flew an Army Ranger Wing team to seize the cocaine-laden freighter off the south coast came so close to the ship that its blades were within feet of large cranes on it. An officer who commanded the air mission told us the chopper would have crashed if any of its blades struck the giant yellow cranes. 'If we clip the blade we're gone,' he said. 'In the best case, we might get to ditch it onto the vessel, or ditch it into the sea. But it's not good.' Now, as eight men begin jail terms over the September 2023 plan to smuggle the drugs here on the freighter, we can reveal new details about the Defence Forces plan, called Operation Piano, in which the ARW, Naval Service and Air Corps combined to seize the ship – and the cocaine on board. We can reveal that: · The ARW team fast-roped 55 feet from the chopper onto the deck in heavy seas in seconds · One of the crew turned the ship hard left just as the ARW operators were roping down · The special forces unit seized control of the freighter in just five minutes · A Naval Service commander was planning to open fire on the ship after it refused lawful orders to stop, and · An Air Corps gunner in the chopper used a GPMG machine gun to provide cover to the ARW team as they stormed the ship. The three arms of the Defence Forces teamed up with Revenue Customs and Gardai to form a joint task force to take down the MV Matthew, a Panamanian registered freighter that had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with 2,200 kilos of cocaine - worth €157 million. But Gardai and Customs had received international intelligence on the plot – and worked with the Defence Forces to foil it on September 26. Operation Piano started five days earlier, on Friday, September 22 when the captain of the Naval Service ship LÉ William B Yeats was summoned to a short notice meeting at its HQ at Haulbowline in Co Cork. He and his crew had just spent two weeks at sea – but were ordered back out again. He told us: 'I was briefed in broad terms about an impending counter narcotics operation that was expected to happen off the south coast of Ireland within a matter of days and I was given instructions to return the ship immediately to sea.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Within 90 minutes, the 44 crew on the €71 million ship were ready and it headed out to the Irish Sea. They had received intelligence that the Matthew and a trawler called the Castlemore were planning to meet up in Irish waters. It was suspected that the Matthew was the mother ship and the plan was for it to link up with the smaller Castlemore and transfer a massive drugs consignment over to it – which would then land it on the south coast. On Saturday, the ship picked up gardai and customs officers and then headed to patrol the area of sea where investigators believed the hand over would take place. The following evening, Sunday, the LÉ WB Yeats monitored both vessels off the coast of Wexford. Officers saw the Castlemore loiter in the suspected drop off area for around an hour. The captain told us he believed that the Matthew had dropped the drugs into the sea and the Castlemore was searching for them. Then, at around 11pm, the captain received reports a trawler had run aground off the coast – and he realised it was the Castlemore. He then took part in an operation to rescue two men from the stricken trawler. A Coast Guard helicopter winched the men from the trawler and they were then brought to the WB Yeats, which transported them to Rosslare port. The Yeats spent much of Monday monitoring the grounded Castlemore as searches took place for drugs in the waters close to it. But at 1am on Tuesday, September 26, it was ordered to chase down the Matthew, which was now off the coast of Waterford. The Yeats caught up with the Matthew at 5am – and immediately started to interrogate the crew over the radio. The Matthew's captain, Iranian Soheil Jelveh, 51, had been airlifted the day before in a medical emergency, and the Yeats' captain had to deal with his second in command. The officer ordered the crew member to head to Cork – but the Matthew claimed it was having engine problems and needed 48 hours for repairs. After several hours, the second in command eventually agreed to the Irish demands and set sail for Cork. 'It looked like things were going our way,' the Irish captain said. But an hour later, it became clear that the MV Matthew was bluffing – and it had instead set a course for Sierra Leone in west Africa. The Irish officer said: 'It was apparent to me then that I was in hot pursuit of that ship. I was authorised to use force, if necessary, to get that vessel to comply with my instruction. Ultimately, I arrived at the decision that force needed to be used.' It was now around midday on Tuesday and the officer ordered his crew to fire warning shots in the air from Steyr 5.56mm assault rifles. The crew ignored those shots, so the captain ordered his personnel to fire more shots – but this time from the heavier calibre 7.62mm machinegun. The captain told us the MV Matthew crew begged for their lives – but still ignored his commands to head to Cork. He said: 'Some of the messages came back were words like 'don't, don't shoot. There's people here who are innocent. We have families at home, wives, children. We don't want to die. And please deescalate.' 'My response was always that they were responsible for the outcome of this action, that they had within their power to deescalate. I would have immediately backed off had I seen the results that we needed to. I imagine it got quite frantic on board. And just in the interactions between myself and the guy at the end of the radio, he was doing everything in his power to put me off the course of action that I was on.' But the Irish captain knew he had to be firm - and that he had the law on his side. He had three other weapons on board: a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, a 20mm cannon and a 76mm main gun. He said: 'I have the options of using the heavy machine gun and 20 millimetre and 76 millimetre weapons. They were the options that were available to me.' He adds he was planning on firing the warning shots gradually closer to the Matthew – and was ready to actually hit the vessel with what is called disabling fire, that would mean targeting the engine. He said: 'You begin stepping your shots closer to the vessel, and if you're into the realm of disabling shots, then you are trying your best to hit critical machinery that would disable the vessel and stop the vessel in its tracks, obviously mitigating against personal injury.' But the Irish captain then got an order to cease the warning shots as the Air Corps were flying an Army Ranger Wing unit to the Matthew – to assault it from the skies. The special forces unit was flown to the MV Matthew on board an Air Corps AW139 helicopter. The senior flyer who commanded the mission said the Air Corps provided a two planes – a PC-12 and a Casa – for overwatch, while approximately nine ARW operators were loaded into the AW139 helicopter and flown to Waterford airport. At 12.40pm, then Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin gave approval for the mission and the helicopter carrying the assault team lifted off at 1pm. The officer said: 'We got radar contact around 25 miles off the South West coast. We were updated then that warning shots were being fired by our naval colleagues who were trying to get (The MV Matthew) to stop. We have planned all along there was going to be a compliant boarding so we weren't anticipating the offensive nature.' But they then realised the Matthew was not following orders – and got ready to deliver the ARW team in a non-compliant landing. That meant positioning the helicopter so an ARW sniper and an Air Corps gunner using a GMPG machinegun were able to provide cover as the special forces team fast roped onto the ship from 55 feet. The officer said: 'We came in low. The swell was around four metres, the wind was around 20 knots and (MV Matthew) was going around 10-15 knots. We've got 35-40 knots coming across the deck as we're getting ready to put ropes on. The swell was pitching and rolling the vessel, which made it more challenging. 'The deck was very challenging. There were antennae, we'd high cranes left and right. It made it probably the highest and fast rope we've ever done onto a vessel. 'And at times we've just barely a small bit of rope on. So it's an extremely challenging and dangerous insertion.' He said the team would normally use a winch to deploy personnel onto a ship – but the ARW unit needed to get on quickly. And that meant using fast ropes which - combined with the closeness of the cranes and antennae as well as the weather – made the insertion extremely risky. And it became even more dangerous when a crew member on the Matthew turned the Matthew towards the helicopter while the fast rope was actually happening. The Air Corps officer said: 'Fast roping on land is extremely dangerous. But going out to ship in quite challenging maritime conditions with 35/40 knots across the deck, she's rolling and pitching with these two big masts that are very, very close and then they decide to turn into us. 'So we're constantly moving, trying to maintain our position on the deck. Once the guy goes on to the rope it's extremely dangerous, if he comes off at 50/55 feet, it's something not even worth thinking about.' He confirmed the AW139's blades were only a matter of feet from the cranes when the ARW team was fast roping onto the MV Matthew. Only the skill of the pilot prevented a catastrophe. The officer said: 'If we clip the blade we're gone. In the best case, we might get to ditch it onto the vessel, or ditch it into the sea. But it's not good.' The ARW team took a matter of seconds to rope onto the ship, a senior special forces commander told us. He revealed they had control of the ship within five minutes. The first operators to land on the ship raced to the bridge - the most important area of the vessel. He said: 'The priority will be to control the vessel. That means it can't be steered in a different direction. It can't be rammed into another vessel, or it can't be scuttled. 'We had full control within about five minutes of the first personnel being on the deck. ' He said he knew once the soldiers landed safely it was all over for the ship's crew. He said: 'We had full confidence that once we got the guys on to the deck, there wasn't going to be anything on the ship that they couldn't deal with. We've got really well trained people. Once we managed to get them onto the deck, it would be over.' Once the bridge was under the ARW control, operators realised some of the crew were trying to burn the cocaine in a lifeboat. The team ran over and used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze – and save the cocaine as evidence. And one of the ARW soldiers then took control of the massive freighter – and sailed it to Cork harbour, where gardai were waiting to board it. The senior ARW officer said: 'We have a lot of personnel who are dedicated to working in the maritime environment and they've got really specialist qualifications in that area. We had personnel on board that day who were able to take the ship under control and bring it into Cork.'
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Moment MV Matthew crew ordered to burn drugs as Irish warship in ‘hot pursuit' as cops probe Iran & Kinahan cartel links
THE Kinahan cartel is among several international crime organisations being probed over the failed attempt to smuggle €157million of cocaine to Europe on board MV Matthew. The drugs operation, which originated in Advertisement 6 The Army Ranger Wing boarding the MV Matthew as part of Ireland's largest-ever drugs haul Credit: Copyright remains with handout provider 6 The partially-burned cocaine stash inside a lifeboat on the MV Matthew Credit: Copyright remains with handout provider 6 Captain Darragh Kirwan head of Naval Service Operations and Garda Assistant Comissioner Angela Willis Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved Eight men were jailed on Friday for between 13.5 and 20 years for their part in trying to smuggle the 2.2tonnes — the largest The haul was seized following a joint The These criminals are believed to have links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, which was led by General Hossein Salami, until he was killed by an Israeli airstrike during last month's Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS Two of those jailed on Friday were Iranians that Gardai believe have links to Hezbollah, led by Hassan Nasrallah before his assassination in Today, the Gardai released a The man who ran the operation from Speaking today from the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Co Advertisement Most read in Irish News Asst Comm Willis said Gardai have also identified Irish-based She said: 'The next phase of the operation is to look at the peripheral involvement of other people here in Ireland and abroad, and that will also include looking at asset recovery of those people.' RESILIENT CARTELS She indicated the Interpol's Dave Cantor said: 'The cartels are resilient and looking for new ways to get their drugs to market. I think it's changing as the threat of synthetic drugs is on the rise globally.' Advertisement He said deadly drugs like Pink Cocaine — a cocktail of synthetic drugs which has led to many deaths in the He stressed: 'There's a very strong commitment to fight organised crime.' Revenue Commissioner Ruth Kennedy said they have a potential buyer for MV Matthew, which is berthed across from the town of Passage. To watch the full story of the MV Matthew click . Advertisement 6 Daniel Kinahan 6 Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah Credit: AFP 6 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami Credit: Reuters
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Sacked car wash worker stabbed his ex-employer while attempting to break into his home
George Toma (47) pleads guilty to stabbing Mircea Maties and and his nephew Darius Maties in Co. Roscommon. A sacked car wash worker stabbed his former employer and his nephew after attempting to enter their home through an upstairs window, Roscommon Circuit Court has heard. George Toma of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to trespassing with a knife, burglary, production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury, and assault causing harm to Mircea Maties and Darius Maties. The court heard that Toma was having financial issues in his native Romania when he was hired by Mircea Maties to work at his car wash business in Brackernagh, Ballinasloe, Co Galway. He was initially housed in an apartment with another employee and began working at Crystal Clean Car Wash. He received a €1,000 loan to help his financial situation, which he paid back in €100 deductions from his weekly wages. On December 10, 2024, Mercia Maties terminated Toma's employment after becoming suspicious that Toma was stealing from the business while he was away. Mr Maties said that the number of cars being washed did not correspond with the records kept on the premises and that the CCTV had been turned off. Later that day at 7.20pm Toma broke the lock and gained access to the premises and slept the night there. Toma charged his phone overnight before leaving at 7am the following morning with a knife he took from the premises. Roscommon Courthouse Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 5th On December 15, Toma gained access to 9 Gleann Ard, Ballaghaderreen - a property maintained and managed by Mr Mercia Maties for a Dublin-based company - and took a two-metre ladder from the premises. At approximately 4am that morning, the 47-year-old used the ladder to climb up to an upstairs window of Mercia Maties' home at 7 Gleann Ard, Ballaghaderreen. Darius Maties, a nephew of Mercia Maties, woke to the sound of Toma attempting to pry open the window. Mercia Maties, his wife and seven-year-old daughter were also in the house at the time. Recognising Toma, Darius Maties screamed and told his uncle that Toma was outside his bedroom window. Mercia Maties went downstairs and retrieved a baseball bat as Toma attempted to enter through the window. Upon seeing Toma, Mercia Maties shouted at Toma, who fell off the ladder and landed on the ground in front of the patio window. Mercia Maties went downstairs and saw Toma moaning on the ground and went to check on him. Toma then drove a knife at Mercia Maties, stabbing him in the chest through his t-shirt. He told his nephew to get back into the house before Toma attempted to enter the house via the patio door. Toma managed to get part of his body inside the patio door and began swinging the knife. Darius Maties was stabbed in the shoulder during the exchange before they forced Toma out of the room. Toma then left the scene. Merica Maties' wife called the emergency services and both men were conveyed to hospital via ambulance. Merica Maties required stitches for his wounds while Darius Maties was left with a minor scar at the top of his arm. They were released from hospital the following day. When cautioned before being arrested at Pound Street, Ballaghaderreen, at approximately 8pm that evening, Toma said: 'Problem with boss, no money for me.' He was conveyed to Castlerea Garda Station where he was interviewed twice. He cooperated fully with gardaí. During his interview, Toma claimed he had gone to the house to retrieve €10 of stolen jewellery and cash he claimed he was owed by Mercia Maties. He maintained that Mercia Maties had exploited him during his employment and that he stabbed him accidentally on the night he attempted to enter his house. Toma later pleaded guilty to all charges on June 18, 2025. He has no previous convictions and had been living in Ireland for approximately six months at the time of his offences. The court heard that Toma has a wife and child living in Romania and had been sending money to them while employed by Mercia Maties. In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mercia Maties said he lived in constant fear that his attacker would return to the house since the event. A separate victim impact statement from his wife heard that she had been diagnosed with post traumatic stressed disorder since the incident. Darius Maties said he had experienced persistent fear anxiety and difficulty sleeping since the incident. He has been prescribed diazepam to treat his stress and has experienced memory lapses and had difficulty concentrating. Defending barrister Mr Rob Lowe, BL, said his client was the father of an eight-year-old child with a good work ethic and said he intended to return to Romania. Judge Kenneth Connolly remanded Toma in custody to appear before Longford District Court on July 30 for sentencing.
