MV Matthew crew were 'valuable components' on behalf of crime group with 'apparently unlimited resources'

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5 days ago

The six men caught on board the bulk carrier MV Matthew with 2.2 tonnes of cocaine and two others who attempted to take the illicit load on board a second vessel in the Irish Sea have been jailed for a combined 129 years.
Passing sentence at the Special Criminal Court on Friday, Ms Justice Melanie Greally described the ship's experienced and highly expert crew as "valuable components of the engine that drives international drug smuggling".
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The defendants, who hail from Iran, Ukraine, Philippines and the UK, were "committed to and invested in" the criminal enterprise on behalf of an organised crime group with "apparently unlimited resources", the judge said.
Having set headline sentences ranging from 30 years to 22 years, the three-judge court reduced each sentence after considering mitigating factors.
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.
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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 24th and 26th 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 21st and 25th 2023, at a location within the State, they attempted to possess cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying to another.
Ms Justice Greally on Friday sentenced Ozgen to 20 years in prison; Estoesta to 18 years; Jelveh to 17.5 years; Vlasoi to 16.5 years; Hassani to 15 years; Gavryk to 14 years; Lapa to 14.5 years and Harbron to 13.5 years.
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The court previously heard that while the MV Matthew was sailing under the flag of Panama, it was owned by a Dubai-based company known as 'Symphony Marine'. It departed from Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast before being loaded with 2.2 tonnes of cocaine.
The court also heard that an organised crime group in Dubai instructed the crew of the MV Matthew as it attempted to evade law enforcement and deliver the drugs to an Irish vessel.
Despite repeated warnings from the Irish Navy, including warning shots fired from the LE William Butler Yeats, the person overseeing the operation told the crew to keep going and head for a safe port in Sierra Leone.
The original plan was that the MV Matthew would deliver the drugs to a second ship, the Castlemore, but rough seas and technical difficulties caused the Irish vessel to miss the connection and later to run aground.
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As the MV Matthew tried to evade capture, members of the Irish Army Rangers were lowered by rope ladder from a helicopter onto the ship's deck.
The crew had tried to set the drugs on fire but the rangers acted quickly to quench the flames and save the drugs as evidence. One of the rangers, a former member of the Navy, steered the vessel to Cork Harbour.
In sentencing, Ms Justice Greally said a significant aggravating factor was that the operation was on behalf of a criminal organisation with international reach and "apparently unlimited resources to invest in transnational drug-trafficking".
She said each defendant's culpability was based on the "vast quantity" and value of the drugs, the meticulous planning of the operation and the group's technical sophistication.
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Cocaine is a "highly addictive drug which is causing widespread societal harm and dysfunction," she said.
While none of the convicted men belong to the "upper echelons" of the criminal organisation and they did not own the drugs or stand to profit from their sale, Ms Justice Greally said they played an important role in the operation.
Apart from Ozgen and Harbron, they possessed a "high level of seafaring and navigational expertise," which is vital to such operations, she said. "Seafarers are not cogs but valuable components of the engine that drives international drug smuggling," she said.
Each had proven competence at sea and obtained a high level of trust in the organisation. They were "committed to and invested in the success of the venture," she said.
Ms Justice Greally noted that Ozgen and the officers on board the MV Matthew had given varying accounts of when and how they came to know of the illicit nature of the ship's cargo.
However, Ms Justice Greally said a failure to understand the purpose of the voyage would require a level of "wilful ignorance" that is "tantamount to knowledge".
She pointed out that the MV Matthew is a large bulk carrier which left Venezuela for Gdansk in Poland with no cargo. While at sea, the ordinary seamen were plied with alcohol before armed men on board a second vessel lifted the drugs onto the MV Matthew by crane.
She said there was also evidence from a group chat being used by the officers that each of them knew that the MV Matthew was using "spoofing" software to misrepresent its location as it crossed the Atlantic.
Ozgen, the judge said, was the crew member most closely connected to the criminal organisation in Dubai and was to be paid a significant sum for his role.
He had specific knowledge of the drugs and was on board to ensure the job was successful, the judge said. He provided progress reports to Dubai every couple of days and occupied the captain's cabin so he could supervise and monitor what the other officers were doing.
"The evidence supports that he was a malign and intimidatory presence on the ship," she said.
Hassani and Lapa, she said, were in debt and were motivated by the financial pressure they were under and their family circumstances. Harbron, a drug addict, was primarily looking to reduce his drug debt, the judge said.
Jelveh, who was the captain of the vessel, contacted the Irish Coast Guard after two failed rendezvous with the Castlemore and asked to be airlifted away for medical reasons.
He therefore left the MV Matthew before the operation's failure was certain, Judge Greally said, and had no role in later attempts by the crew to defy the orders of the Irish Navy and customs officers or to prevent the Irish Army Rangers from making their landing.
Estoesta, the judge said, demonstrated a level of commitment to the criminal organisation that was "unmatched by any other officer". When presented with a choice between obeying the Irish authorities or the criminal organisation, he chose to try to evade justice and escape Irish waters, hoping to get to Sierra Leone in west Africa.
When a helicopter attempted to lower the rangers to the ship by rope ladder, Vlasoi was steering the ship. Ms Justice Greally said Vlasoi manoeuvred the ship to frustrate their landing, exposing them to danger and creating a further aggravating factor.
Ms Justice Greally set headline sentences for each accused, ranging from 30 years for Ozgen, the most culpable, to 22 years for Harbron who was deemed least culpable.
Before finalising the sentence, Ms Justice Greally said the court took into account that each defendant pleaded guilty and that all, except Harbron, have no previous convictions.
She further considered their family situations and the difficulties they will face in a foreign prison, far away from home. Within the prison system, each defendant has enhanced status for good behaviour.
Ms Justice Greally backdated each sentence to when they went into custody following their arrests in September 2023.
Ms Justice Greally concluded by saying that she had observed the "professionalism and competence" of the joint task force involving gardai, customs and revenue officers, the navy and the Irish army.
They had succeeded in preventing the ship from escaping Irish waters and from evading justice. The skill of the army rangers, she said, was critical to the operation's success.
She further commended the investigation team and lawyers for the clarity of the evidence presented in court which, she said, "without doubt led to the guilty pleas being entered".
Outside court, Detective Superintendent Joe O'Reilly said this remains the largest seizure of controlled drugs in the history of the State.
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He added: "The sentences imposed today provide a clear message to persons involved in international drug trafficking that Ireland is not a soft target for transnational organised criminal networks.
"This and other drugs interdictions over recent years clearly demonstrate that all agencies of the State, supported by our international partners, will work together to successfully disrupt and dismantle criminal networks engaged in drug trafficking, thereby reducing harm to our communities.
"To those involved in drug trafficking, the message is clear: The full force of the Irish State, supported by our international partners, is against you. The reality facing you is security interdictions, special investigations, the Special Criminal Court, lengthy sentences and asset seizure.
"Transnational organised crime gangs cause misery to communities not only in Ireland but throughout the world. Tackling these gangs not only makes Ireland safer but all the other countries that they operate in."