Latest news with #MarkDoherty
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Irish Times
Gardaí working with UK National Crime Agency as part of investigation into €31 million West Cork drugs haul
Gardaí are liaising closely with the National Crime Agency in the UK as part of their ongoing investigation into the seizure of €31 million of drugs in west Cork, a court has heard. Det Garda Gavin Curran of the Garda National Drugs and Organized Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) said gardaí were continuing to make progress in their investigation into the huge cocaine haul. Some 440kg of cocaine were seized by gardaí at Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, on July 1st in a Joint Task Force operation which also involved Customs and Excise and the Naval Service. Two men arrested in Courtmacsherry, and two men arrested at Haulbowline Naval Base after they were detained at sea by the LE William Butler Yeats, were later charged at Bandon District Court. READ MORE Mark Doherty, Levant Gulay, Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett were all charged with possession of cocaine, and possession of cocaine for sale or supply, at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry on July 1st. Judge Joanne Carroll remanded all four in custody to Macroom District Court, where they appeared on Wednesday morning amid tight security, including officers from the Garda Armed Support Unit. Det Garda Curran said a kilo of the drug had been sent to the Forensic Science Ireland laboratory, which confirmed that it was cocaine, but tests need to be done on further samples. He said that GNDOCB were liaising the National Crime Agency in the UK to pursue a number of lines of inquiry into the seizure. 'I can't give you an exact timeline on when a file is going to be ready given the numbers of lines of inquiry, but I can confirm the investigation is ongoing and progress is being made,' he said. Judge Carroll acknowledged the Garda's evidence and Sgt Emer O'Connell applied for a continuing remand in custody for all four to appear at Clonakilty District Court on July 15th. Earlier, solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said that he was not applying for bail for his client Mr Doherty (40), of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, at this point, but he was seeking free legal aid for him. He submitted a statement of means, saying Mr Doherty was living in a local authority house in Glasgow where he was working as a builder's labourer and had no funds to pay for his defence. Judge Carroll said that she would adjourn her decision on free legal aid until the next court sitting to allow gardaí confirm the details that he had filled out in his statement of means. Mr Taaffe, deputising for Frank Buttimer, said another accused, Mr Sandford (39) of Woodgreen, Drum Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland, was also reserving his position on a bail application. Solicitor Patrick Goold, deputising for Eddie Burke, said that his client Mr Hibbett (44), of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, England, was similarly making no application for bail at this stage. Solicitor Jack Purcell, deputising for Myra Dineen, said his client Mr Gulay (31) of Schwabeenstrasse, Neu Ulm, Germany, was similarly making no application for bail. Judge Carroll said in the light of there being no bail applications, she was granting the Garda application and she remanded all four in custody to appear at Clonakilty District Court by video-link on July 15th.
STV News
04-07-2025
- STV News
Two Scots appear in court in connection with £26m cocaine seizure in Ireland
Two Scottish men have appeared in an Irish court in connection with a £26m cocaine seizure off the coast of Ireland. Mark Doherty, 40, of Glasgow, and Ben Sandford, 40, of Moray, faced the charges at Bandon District Court, County Cork, along with two other suspects on Thursday. They appeared alongside Levent Gulay, 31, of Bavaria, Germany, and Christopher Hibbit, 44, from Cornwall in England. The men were arrested on Tuesday, July 1, after Gardai from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau stopped a van in the Courtmacsherry area of Cork, and 440kg of suspected cocaine, with a street value in excess of €31m, was recovered. Two of the men were arrested by the armed Maritime Interdiction Team, on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that had departed Broadstrand, Countmacherry. The boat was intercepted by two Naval Services RIBs dispatched from Irish naval ship L.E William Butler Years, supported by a Maritime patrol aircraft from the Irish Air Corps, off the coast of Waterford. Doherty, from Pollok, and Sandford, from Keith, both faced two charges regarding possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply. The four defendants were remanded in custody, and will appear at Macroom District Court on July 9. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- RTÉ News
Four men charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Co Cork
Four men have appeared before Bandon District Court charged in connection with Tuesday's €31 million cocaine seizure. Three of the four are British and the fourth has an address in Germany. All four face two charges each: possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, on Tuesday. The four are 40-year old Mark Doherty, with an address at Waterfront Avenue, Glasgow, and 39-year old Ben Sanford, with an address at Moray in Scotland; 31-year old Levent Gulay, with an address in Bavaria, Germany, and 44-year old Christopher Hibbett from Cornwall in England. Detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau gave evidence to the court of arresting and charging the four men. Three of them did not reply when the charges were put to them. There were no applications for bail, and Judge Joanne Carroll remanded all four in custody. They will be back before Macroom District Court next Wednesday. Detectives from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau have also identified the mothership which was used to transport the cocaine from South America, across the Atlantic to the Irish coastline. The ship's crew have been interviewed. No arrests have been made.
The Journal
03-07-2025
- The Journal
Four men charged in connection with seizure of €31m worth of cocaine in Co Cork
FOUR MEN HAVE appeared before a court in West Cork charged in connection with the seizure of €31 million worth of cocaine in Courtmacsherry in west Cork on Tuesday. All four men have been remanded in custody. One of the men has an address in Germany whilst three of the accused are British nationals. Levant Gulay, Mark Doherty, Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett appeared before Bandon court charged in connection with the seizure of 440kgs of cocaine. They were brought to the court by members of the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau. Gardaí were assisted by the Armed Support Unit. Detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of the four accused at garda stations in Bandon in the county and Togher in Cork city. All four men were charged with possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork on 1 July 2025. Detective Garda John McWeeney gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Mark Doherty (40) of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland. He said that Mr Doherty made no reply when the charges were put to him. Detective Garda Shane Kiely gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ben Sandford (39) of Woodgreen, Drum Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland. He also made no reply to the charges. Detective Garda Marguerite Reilly gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Levant Gulay (31) of Schwabeenstrasse 76, Neu Ulm, Germany. He made no reply to the charges. Advertisement Detective Garda Gavin Curran, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution of Christopher Hibbett (44) of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, England. Detective Garda Curran told the court that Mr Hibbett stated 'I'm fucking sorry, that's it' when he put the possession of cocaine for sale or supply charge to him earlier today at Togher Garda Station. Solicitors Myra Dineen and Plunkett Taaffe, representing Mr Gulay and Mr Doherty respectively, said that their clients were reserving their positions on bail. Both solicitors opted to stand in for Frank Buttimer for Mr Sandford and for solicitor Eddie Burke for Mr Hibbett. They confirmed that they were also not seeking bail for either man at this juncture. Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Judge Joanne Carroll that gardai were seeking a remand in custody for all four men to Macroom District Court on 9 July. Judge Carroll remanded all four accused to appear in court on that date. Judge Carroll also requested that defence solicitors provide two days notice to gardai if their clients intend to make bail applications on the next occasion. All four men also have to supply statement of means to the court. The men were held under drugs trafficking legislation which allowed gardai to detain them for up to seven days. The arrests occurred as part of a Joint Task Force Drugs Interdiction Operation.
The Irish Sun
03-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Four men remanded after appearing in court charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Cork when van stopped & searched
FOUR men have appeared before Bandon District Court charged in connection with a €31 million cocaine seizure. Three of the four accused are British, while the fourth has an address in 4 Ben Sandford of Moray, Scotland arriving at Bandon District Court Credit: Provision 4 Mark Doherty of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow was in court charged in connection with a €31m cocaine seizure Credit: Provision 4 Christopher Hibbett of Truro, Cornwall is also charged Credit: Provision Earlier this week, The men who appeared in court are 40-year old Mark Doherty, with an address at Waterfront Avenue, Glasgow; 41-year old Ben Sandfield, with an address at Moray in All four face two charges each: possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry on Tuesday. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau to Judge Joanne Carroll. Read more in News Detective Garda John McWeeney said he arrested Mark Doherty and charged him with the two charges. He made no reply when charged. Lawyer Plunkett Taaffe, defending, applied for free legal aid and said his client was not applying for bail at this time. Judge Carroll said a statement of means must be provided before granting his application. Detective Garda Marguerite Reilly said she arrested Levent Gulay and charged him with the two drugs charges on July 2 at 20.45 in Bandon Garda Station. Most read in The Irish Sun He made no reply. The services of a German interpreter were used both in the Garda Station and in the court this morning. Lawyer Myra Dineen said there would be no bail application at this time, but there may be at a later date. 'SORRY' Detective Garda Gavin Curran said he charged Christopher Hibbett and cautioned him. He made no reply to possession of cocaine but replied to the charge of possession for sale or supply: 'I am f***ing sorry. That's it.' Detective Garda Shane Kiely said he arrested and charged Ben Sanford who made no reply to the charges. Sergeant Tom Mulcahy said he was seeking a remand in custody to Macroom District Court on July 9. REMANDED Judge Joanne Carroll said the State is to be provided with 48 hours notice of any applications for bail, and statements of means for all defendants requesting free legal aid was to be produced 24 hours in advance of court appearances to give the court time to consider the applications. She remanded the four defendants in custody, which she said could be for no more than eight days. They will all appear in Macroom District Court on July 9. 4 Levant Gulay of Neu Ulm, Germany at Bandon District Court Credit: Provision
