Latest news with #ArmyRangerWing
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Irish Times
‘It was like a scene from an action movie': How Ireland's biggest drug bust unfolded
The seizure of the MV Matthew, with its massive consignment of drugs, off the Irish coast in September 2023 was as daring as it was skilful. After days of a cat and mouse chase in challenging weather between the Naval Service and the Matthew, members of the elite Army Ranger Wing descended from a helicopter on to the deck of the cargo ship. The crew were arrested and the drugs found. Operation Piano – which brought Revenue, the Garda and the Defence Forces together – resulted in Ireland's largest ever drugs seizure, worth €156 million. While the operation was an undoubted success, a showcase of ability, power and intent, it also highlighted how ill-equipped the Defence Forces are. READ MORE Only one ship was available for the operation, and only one helicopter. So many things could have gone wrong. Eight men have been jailed over the drugs seizure, their significant sentences a signal from the Irish courts that anyone involved in such international drug smuggling will be treated severely. Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher describes how the Matthew was intercepted and seized. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Filipino Times
12-07-2025
- Filipino Times
Filipino Seafarer jailed in Ireland for role in €157-M cocaine smuggling case
A Filipino seafarer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in Ireland for his role in the attempted smuggling of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine valued at more than €157 million. Harold Estoesta was among eight men convicted in connection with the drug trafficking operation involving the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel MV Matthew, which was intercepted off the Irish coast in September 2023. Authorities said it was the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history. According to Irish officials, the vessel departed from Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela, and crossed the Atlantic before entering Irish territorial waters. The interception was carried out through a coordinated operation involving the Irish police (Gardaí), customs, and the Defence Forces. An elite unit from the Army Ranger Wing boarded the ship in rough sea conditions after the Irish Navy pursued the vessel as it attempted to evade capture. Dutch national Cumali Ozgen received the longest sentence of 20 years. Other individuals convicted included two Ukrainian and two Iranian nationals, with sentences ranging from 13.5 to 17.5 years. Two other men, initially rescued from a separate trawler believed to be preparing to rendezvous with the MV Matthew, were also sentenced in connection with the case. The court said the operation was linked to a transnational drug cartel with significant resources and global reach. Authorities added that the cartel operated using a cell structure designed to continue operations even if one part was disrupted.
Irish Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, July 8th: On equipping the Defence Forces, Botox, and replacing the president
Sir, – Conor Gallagher's gripping account of Operation Piano captures not only the most audacious Irish Defence Forces mission in decades, but also a quiet truth: Irish sailors, soldiers and Air Corps crews perform extraordinary feats despite systemic neglect (' Hizbullah and Iran suspected of involvement in MV Matthew smuggling operation ,' July 5th.) The daring interdiction of the MV Matthew amid Storm Agnes – with Army Ranger Wing operators rappelling on to a moving vessel in heavy swells, a lone helicopter pressed into service, and a single Naval Service ship shouldering the entire mission – should have been impossible. That it succeeded is testament to the skill, courage and sheer determination of those involved. Yet this triumph must not blind us to the wider reality. These are forces running on fumes: unable to put more than one ship to sea at a time, reliant on overstretched crews, battling chronic equipment, and recruitment and retention crises. READ MORE Ireland's neighbours know it. So, too, do malign actors, from drug cartels to Russian surveillance ships lurking near undersea cables vital to the global economy. Operation Piano should not just be a proud moment; it is a chance to inspire a new generation to serve. But recruitment campaigns must be matched by serious investment: competitive pay, modern equipment and political commitment. And let's be clear: building a modern, capable military does not compromise Ireland's traditional neutrality – and it shouldn't. This is not an 'either/or' choice; it's an 'and'. The success of this mission should galvanise a grown-up conversation about Ireland's place in an increasingly dangerous world. – Yours, etc, DAVID SWEENEY, Washington DC, United States. University fees increase proposal Sir, – I'm writing as a 51-year-old mother of three, full-time worker, taxpayer and voter, to express my deep frustration and disappointment at the Government's plan to increase third-level college fees back up to €3,000. Like so many others in my generation, we have raised our children without a modicum of State support beyond the basic children's allowance. We paid full whack for everything: childcare, creche, GP visits, dentists, school books, uniforms – you name it. There was no Early Childgood Care and Education scheme when we needed it, no free GP care, no tax reliefs worth mentioning. We paid full stamp duty on our first home, we've paid PRSI and USC since it was introduced, and we've continued to pay high income taxes throughout. We didn't qualify for any grants. No Susi. No back-to-school allowance. No medical card. Nothing. And we didn't complain – we worked hard and got on with it, trusting that at some point we'd see a bit of recognition or support. That recognition finally came in the form of the ¤1,000 reduction in college fees. It was the only tangible help we've received in 22 years of raising children. And now, just as quickly, it's being taken away. We have two children in college right now. We pay for everything – fees, rent, food, transport – and we are doing it on after-tax income with no financial assistance. It is demoralising in the extreme to be told, in effect, that once again our cohort doesn't matter. We've done everything 'right' by the State and have been left holding the bag at every stage of our parenting journey. I urge the Government to seriously reconsider the reversal of this small but meaningful relief. For many of us, this isn't just about money – it's about fairness, dignity, and the principle that people who have contributed so much to this country should not be punished for quietly getting on with things without ever asking for help. I speak not just for myself, but for countless friends, colleagues, and neighbours who feel just as let down. – Yours, etc, ANNE KEANE, Cork. Sir, – How many actual, or potential, university students spent far more than the previously allowed €1,000 reduction in fees that is not being given this year on holidays in Spain or Greece this summer? – Yours, etc, EAMONN DILLON, Farranshone, Co Limerick. Awarding HSE contracts Sir, – I find it troubling to reconcile the recent revelations concerning the HSE, specifically, that current and former employees have acted as directors of a limited company engaged in multimillion euro contracts with the very organisation they serve or once served. Having spent years in the private sector, I can perhaps just about understand how ex-employees might find themselves in such a position, though even that raises questions. But the notion that active employees of the HSE could be involved in awarding or benefiting from such contracts is, quite frankly, inconceivable. This situation raises an obvious and urgent question: were those responsible for managing these tenders, whether within the HSE or acting as its agents, fully aware of the employment relationships involved? If not, why not? If they were, even more serious concerns arise. In an era when regulatory compliance, ethical standards, and fitness and probity have been significantly tightened, it is difficult to imagine how these transactions could meet the standards required of public bodies. A full, independent inquiry is not just warranted, it is essential. – Yours etc, DAVID CASSIDY, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9. Turner, take a bow Sir, – I dislike cartoons largely because they leave me unmoved. Your cartoon (July 5th), about environmental damage jumped off the page for me. Martyn Turner, take a bow for grabbing my attention and telling me so persuasively about costs to the exchequer, the planet and US workers' predicament, no less. – Yours,etc, BERNADETTE BARRINGTON, Dublin 12. Mission impossible Sir, – After President Michael D Higgins vacates the office of Uachtaráin na hÉireann I suggest the position be stood down as a suitable candidate to replace him is an impossibility. – Yours, etc, DEREK HENRY CARR, Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1. Sir, – In order to alleviate the lethargic approach to our upcoming presidential election, why don't we do what they did in the US and vote for a monarch? – Yours, etc, DAVID CLEERE, Co Wexford. Nurses and injecting Botox Sir, – In response to the recent letter claiming that nurses are authorised to independently administer botulinum toxin under the direction of a doctor, I must clarify the legal position. On one point, we can agree: the law has not changed (Letters, July 4th). Under current Irish law, botulinum toxin-classified as a prescription-only medicine (POM) – may only be prescribed and administered by a registered medical doctor or dentist. A nurse may administer toxin only after a doctor has conducted a face-to-face consultation, assessed the patient, and formally delegated the procedure to a staff nurse within their clinical team. This is not equivalent to autonomous practice. Botox is not a cosmetic product – it is a potent neuromodulator requiring clinical oversight. In cases of adverse events such as infection, anaphylaxis, or ptosis (drooping eyelid), timely intervention with prescription medication is critical. Only a qualified prescriber can provide this level of care. Ireland, unlike many of our EU counterparts, continues to allow ambiguity in this sector. Most European countries sensibly restrict aesthetic medical procedures to doctors and dentists and formally recognise aesthetic medicine as a medical speciality. We would do well to follow their example to protect patient safety and professional standards. – Yours, etc, Dr SEAN FITZPATRICK, President of the Irish College of Aesthetic Medicine, Dublin. Sir, – On the basis that nurses are trusted by medical systems in a variety of crucial roles from ICU decision-making to palliative care, Christina O'Rourke (Letters, July 4th) suggests there is 'no valid reason to restrict' them from injecting Botox into people. I'd argue there may be. A Google search of the term 'most lethal substance' immediately identifies this toxin of Clostridium botulinum as the lead in this regard. A Wikipedia search of 'median lethal dose' puts Botox at 1 nanogram/Kg. So, given that five grams of the substance, if distributed frugally, could kill all of humanity perhaps the case to allow its more widespread injection should be more nuanced? – Yours, etc, BRIAN O'BRIEN, Co Cork. Hpat and all that Sir, – It could be argued that Carl O'Brien provides a well balanced assessment of the relative merits and demerits of private tuition for the Health Professions Admission Test (' Hpat: Can students be 'coached' to pass aptitude tests for entry to medical school? ,' July 4th). At the end of the article, I was wondering with some trepidation, whether or not I would 'pass the Hpat' so I attempted the three questions. I was much relieved there were no issues with the first and third questions, but I was left scratching my head on checking the answer to question two. Maybe my level of interpersonal understanding isn't all I thought it was. – Yours, etc, Dr MICHAEL MULHERN, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Sir, – Brenda Morgan writes (July 4th) that as a teacher she would value neat handwriting and other factors over any extra test such as the Hpat in selecting doctors. Were this truly a requirement for entry to medical school, it is likely that only a tiny minority of current doctors would have been admitted (myself included). – Yours, etc, Dr DAVID VAUGHAN, Mornington, Meath. Sir, – Carl O'Brien's very interesting piece on the Hpat test for admission of students to Irish medical schools omits one important reason for the introduction of that test in 2009; ie to try to weight the gender balance more in favour of male students who were faring less well than females in the traditional exam-based selection process. Has it succeeded in that aim? Or has it, as Prof Hyland predicted, merely contributed to the grinds industry? – Yours, etc, CELIA KEENAN, Dublin. Sir, – While a discussion about the relative weighting of the Hpat is welcome, people have forgotten about the situation before its introduction. At that time, it was not unusual for students to complete two, three, or even four Leaving Certificates to reach the required points. As well as the waste of the students' time, the ability to pay for the extra tuition in the grind schools was only for people with money. The use of points only also made the prospect of random selection much more common, as is being seen in other degree courses now. There is no perfect medical school admission test. How can any test predict the ability of the many roles of a doctor? An interview, even if semi-structured, has obvious potential biases and would certainly create a new industry to prepare students for this, too. The Hpat tests abilities other than rote learning. It is not ideal, but it has reduced the number of students taking multiple Leaving Certificates. The number of free sample questions it produces is limited, and certainly, these could be increased to allow everyone more pre-test practice. By all means, reduce its importance in the selection process, but it should not be discontinued. – Yours, etc, KEVIN DUNNE, (Retired consultant), Galway. Why have any nuclear arms? Sir, – May I be so bold as to ask why certain countries such as America, India, Israel, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, North Korea and Pakistan are allowed nuclear arms without question and others such as Iran are totally forbidden to have them? Is this not total hypocrisy and putting other countries at a disadvantage? Is it not fairer to ban nuclear arms from all countries? – Yours, etc, MAGGIE FITZGERALD, Killiney, Co Dublin. Airport set down enforcement Sir, – Terminal 1, Dublin Airport, Friday, July 4th: an entire lane of the constricted roadway at the departures set-down area is blocked by motorists sitting there to collect arriving passengers. Constant announcements bark that 'this is a set-down area only', but the waiting motorists, cocooned in their cars, know that the airport police will not disturb them. Maybe Dublin Airport cannot exercise the authority to enforce its own traffic bylaws when it refuses to accept capacity restrictions imposed by national planning laws? – Yours, etc, DAVID LOUGHLIN, Dublin 6. Support your local seagulls Sir – Des Boyle in complaining about seagulls (Letters, July 7th) states that they are 'vermin' and as such should be culled or exterminated for his convenience. For his information seagulls are not vermin and like any other creatures are entitled to live and raise their young free from the selfish entitlement of humans. Had humans not destroyed their natural habitat and decimated their food sources, they would not be forced to live in cities and scavenge for a living. Rather than exterminating seagulls, humans should work to restore their habitat and food sources and we would all, humans and birds, be the better for it. – Yours, etc, HUGH PIERCE, Celbridge, Co Kildare. No rocket science Sir, – Is it not feasible that with a little accommodation, change of bylaw if required, a solution can be found for residents wishing to charge their EV outside their homes. A concrete saw operator, and an electrician and a means to connect from the gully adjacent to the footpath. It's not rocket science. – Yours, etc, STANLEY WHITE, Delgany, Co Wicklow.
Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Irish Times
How the Defence Forces carried out its most daring operation in decades, with minimal resources
The crew of LÉ William Butler Yeats were looking forward to a relaxing weekend when the ship arrived in Haulbowline Naval base in Co Cork on the morning of September 22nd, 2023. The vessel had just completed a two-week maritime security patrol and was due to spend the next two days in port, allowing most of the crew a trip home to see family. Those plans were scuppered when, shortly after docking, the captain was summoned to the Naval Operations Command Centre. An Garda Síochána and Revenue, operating as part of a Joint Task Force, had received word of a massive drugs consignment about to land in Ireland aboard a bulk carrier called the MV Matthew, he was told. READ MORE The captain returned to the ship and briefed his crew. All leave was cancelled. The details of the interdiction of the MV Matthew, which led to the biggest drugs seizure by weight in the history of the State, were detailed in interviews with the military officers directly involved. These include the Yeats's captain, the leader of the Air Corps team and a senior member of the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) special operations unit, whose troops rappelled on to the moving vessel amid heavy swells while Storm Agnes bore down on the country. The Defence Forces has requested all those involved remain anonymous due to personnel security concerns. At the start of the mission, which would later be termed Operation Piano, the job of the Yeats was simply to keep Matthew under surveillance, along with a small fishing vessel called the Castlemore. The taskforce believed the Castlemore was planning to rendezvous with the Matthew off southern coast and take on the cocaine before ferrying it to Ireland. The plan was to let this play out before detaining the Castlemore after it brought the cocaine ashore. 'We know now that didn't happen,' said the naval captain. Instead, the Yeats would spend the next five days taking part in the most ambitious and dramatic operation in Irish naval history, during which it would serve as a warship, a search and rescue vessel and a makeshift prison. 'It was incredibly dynamic,' recalled the naval officer. 'You couldn't write it.' The eventual success of the operation was all the more remarkable given the extreme constraints on the Defence Forces. While previous major interdictions involved multiple warships, the Yeats was the only one available this time round. Military planners believed four helicopters would be required to guarantee success but just one was accessible – a Defence Forces helicopter assigned to an emergency air ambulance role which had to be recalled and pressed into service. After picking up a team of gardaí and customs officers, the Yeats sailed to a spot off the south coast where, according to Garda intelligence, the Matthew was to transfer its cargo to the Castlemore. The Yeats's job was to observe the transfer from a distance. The weather began to deteriorate rapidly, however – thanks to Storm Agnes and its 135kph winds – raising doubts the handover would happen at all. The MV Matthew being pursued The next night, the Castlemore finally arrived but there was no sign of the mother ship. The Yeats's captain could see on his screens that, instead of meeting the smaller vessel, the Matthew was sailing up the Irish Sea towards Dublin. After an hour, the fishing boat sailed back inland, leading authorities to believe it was going to shelter from the increasingly perilous weather at Kilmore Quay in Wexford. Instead, it sailed past Kilmore. It was becoming increasingly clear to the crew of the Yeats that they were not dealing with experienced seafarers. They were also having their own problems. The deteriorating weather made it increasingly difficult for their sensors to keep track of the boat. 'At one point, we lost radar contact with the vessel and we had to conduct a search over a couple of hours to regain radar contact,' the captain recalls. At 11pm, word came through that the Castlemore had run around on a sandbank, stranding its two-man crew. The Irish Coast Guard led the rescue operation while the Yeats hid over the horizon, ready to assist if needed. As weather conditions worsened, the Yeats was asked to bring the stricken smugglers ashore. The men were winched up in a Coastguard helicopter before being deposited on the naval ship. [ Hizbullah and Iran suspected of involvement in MV Matthew smuggling operation Opens in new window ] The suspects were housed on the vessel and given food and dry clothes, before being brought ashore the next morning and taken into Garda custody. No drugs were found during a subsequent search of the sandbank and the surrounding waters, meaning the cocaine must still have been aboard the Matthew. Now four days into the operation, the Yeats was ordered to sail at full speed towards the Matthew, which, by then, was near Rosslare. Back on land, the taskforce began to plan for the possibility of having to take the ship by force. The Matthew, a 190-metre long bulk carrier, was carrying almost no cargo, meaning it sat high in the water. This would make it extremely difficult for naval personnel in inflatable boats to gain access. Preliminary plans were drawn up for special operations troops to take the ship from the air. Specifically, the ARW's air assault section – which specialises in the insertion of troops and equipment via helicopter – would fast rope on to the Matthew before taking control of the bridge and securing the crew and cocaine. The ARW has conducted maritime assault training exercises on a yearly basis since 2009, usually involving a hijacked ferry scenario. This operation, however, had the potential to be significantly more dangerous. Just landing the team on a moving ship, crowded with cranes and cables, during heavy swells would require an immense amount of skill. The proposed ARW operation was put to one side as a contingency, while it was decided that the safest option, for the time being, was to somehow convince the crew of the Matthew to voluntarily bring the ship into port. At 5am, on September 26th, the Yeats intercepted the Matthew off the coast and ordered it to sail into Cork Habour. The Matthew responded that it had suffered engine failure and needed 48 hours to make repairs. By this stage, the situation on board the cargo ship was becoming increasingly chaotic as the crew realised their smuggling operation was a failure. After failing to rendezvous with the Castlemore, their criminal bosses in Dubai instructed them to put the cocaine in a lifeboat and prepare to land them ashore. Later, the crew were wrongly advised that the Irish authorities had no legal authority to board their vessel. It subsequently emerged in court the Dubai criminals were relaying legal advice from ChatGPT. By the 25th, the Matthew's Iranian captain, Soheil Jelveh, had had enough and made a distress call asking for an emergency medical evacuation. A short time later, he was winched on to a Coast Guard helicopter while carrying $40,000 in two suitcases. Jelveh was arrested by gardaí shortly after when he tried to leave hospital. This left Harold Estoesta, a 31-year-old Filipino and the ship's second in command, to attempt to stall the Yeats. The captain informed him over the radio, however, that he did not believe his story about engine failure. Partially-burned cocaine stash inside a lifeboat on the MV Matthew. Photograph: An Garda Síochána/PA Wire To everyone's surprise, Estoesta then appeared to comply with the Yeats's orders and set a course for Cork Harbour. 'Things kind of calmed down a small bit. It looked like things were going our way and that in the next couple of hours it would make landfall in Cork,' said the Irish naval captain. It was not to be. An hour later, the Matthew turned south and set a course for Sierra Leone. 'It was apparent to me then that I was in hot pursuit of that ship and that I was authorised to use force, if necessary, to get the vessel to comply with my instruction,' said the captain. Under Irish law, naval captains may fire across the bow of a fleeing ship to force it to comply. If this does not work, they may fire directly on the ship's engines. Such action is rarely required but not without precedent. For example, in 1985, LÉ Aisling fired about 600 rounds during a five-hour pursuit of a Spanish fishing vessel which refused to stop. The captain of the Yeats ordered his crew to fire several bursts in front of the Matthew, initially from assault rifles and then from mounted machine guns. As this went on, radio communications were becoming increasingly fraught. Estoesta pleaded with the Yeats to cease fire. The naval captain recalled him saying: 'There's people here who are innocent. We have families at home, wives, children. We don't want to die. Please de-escalate.' The captain replied that Estoesta was responsible for the outcome of the situation. 'From their point of view, I imagine it got quite frantic on board,' the officer said. Back on land, it had been decided the helicopter assault was the only viable option left. 'We prepped the aircraft. We got the weapons, loaded up, our armour and our personal weapons,' said the Air Corps Commander. Planners discussed the risk profile of the mission and at what point it would become too dangerous to continue. Personnel were also briefed by the Defence Forces legal section on the rules of engagement – in other words, where and when they were permitted to use lethal force. Just before 1pm on the 26th, then tánaiste and minister for defence Micheál Martin was briefed on the plan. He gave the go ahead and, 20 minutes later, an AW139 helicopter containing the ARW team took off from Waterford Airport and sped towards the Matthew. The plan envisaged the troops descending by rope on to the deck. Cover would be provided by an ARW sniper who would remain on the aircraft and an Air Corps door gunner operating a machine gun. Rescue crews sat in Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats – known as Rhibs – aboard the Yeats, ready to deploy at a moment's notice if the helicopter had to ditch in the sea, while other sailors manned the ship's guns. As the helicopter approached, an Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft made a low pass over the vessel in a last-ditch effort to convince it to comply. Instead, the Matthew began to manoeuvre back and forth, significantly increasing the danger faced by the aerial assault team. The team leaders realised then it would be a 'non-compliant boarding'. To reduce the risk to the team, the pilot positioned the helicopter so that the machine gun and sniper were facing the bridge while the ARW operators fast roped off the other side. 'The deck was very challenging, with whip antennas and high cranes left and right. So, it made us do probably the highest fast rope we've ever done on to a vessel,' said the Air Corps Commander. All the while, the Matthew continued to turn back and forth. 'So it's an extremely challenging and dangerous insertion,' he said. The ARW team managed to get on the deck before, with their hands burning from the rope, moving to take control of the ship. Seconds later, the helicopter pulled away, having been unable to drop down several additional bags of equipment for the soldiers. 'We just needed to come off the deck because it was starting to get too dangerous,' said the air Commander. Although they may appear chaotic, ARW assaults involve 'a really graduated number of steps', said the special operations officer. 'Without getting into operational techniques, the priority generally is to take the vessel under way and control it,' said the officer. 'That means dominating the people on the vessel and taking control of key spaces so it can't be steered in a different direction or rammed into another vessel or scuttled.' The crew offered little resistance and, within a few minutes the ship was taken, the officer said. 'The lads moved very quickly to dominate. The psychological effect of that, particularly for people who are seamen and not involved in criminal activity, can be quite intimidating.' A fresh problem faced them immediately, however. Before the boarding, the crew had started to burn the cocaine in the lifeboat. Faced with the prospect of losing the evidence, ARW operators quickly grabbed fire extinguishers and doused the flames. With the crew in handcuffs, Revenue personnel were brought abroad, while an ARW operator piloted the Matthew, along with its 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, into Cork Harbour. On Friday, eight members of the crews of the Matthew and Castlemore received prison sentences of between 13 1/2 and 20 years – a combined 129 years in total – after pleading guilty in the Special Criminal Court to possession of €156 million worth of cocaine. General views of the MV Matthew in Cork. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire The court heard the drug smuggling operation was organised by a transnational organised crime group based in Dubai, which had 'immense capabilities, unlimited resources and a global reach'. Today, the Matthew sits rusting in a berth at Passage West in Cork while the Castlemore, or what is left of it, is still stranded on the sandbank off Wexford. In the aftermath of Operation Piano, those involved received praise domestically and internationally, with other militaries asking the Defence Forces for advice on planning similar operations. For the Defence Forces, Piano's success was a much-needed morale boost, given recent controversies surrounding abuse of women in the ranks and the organisation's recruitment and retention difficulties. Some members privately complained, however, that the threadbare resources available for the interdiction only underlined the systemic problems facing the military. 'You need two helicopters at a minimum to provide mutual support and that's a major, major issue because it's a risky operation anyway,' said former ARW officer Cathal Berry after the operation. 'What if the helicopter had to ditch in the sea or if it had a crash on the ship itself?' Those involved in the operation are more sanguine when asked about the shortages. 'At the end of the day, we had the assets that we had and it was the people that made it work,' said the Yeats's captain. 'There were periods there where the entire crew was up for 24 hours. But everybody swung up the arms and gave the maximum effort.' The air Commander said his 'ideal' package for such an operation is four helicopters; two to insert troops and two to provide covering fire. There is 'doom and gloom but there are positives coming', he said, pointing to the recent purchase of four H145M helicopters capable of deploying advanced weapons systems and the planned procurement of a fleet of larger 'super-medium' helicopters. Perhaps the biggest sign of hope for the Defence Forces is the recent stabilisation in the number of people leaving for the private sector and green shoots in terms of recruitment. Meanwhile, the Yeats and its crew have continued their run of success in drug interdiction operations. On Tuesday, the ship played a vital role in intercepting a €31 million cocaine shipment off Courtmacsherry in Cork. 'It's just a lucky ship, I suppose,' said one Defence Forces officer last week.
The Irish Sun
05-07-2025
- 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
