Latest news with #RHIB
The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Irish, Spanish and Dutch/Iranian groups came together to launch dangerous €58m cocaine plan
AN IRISH, SPANISH and Dutch/Iranian crime grouping had come together to run a sophisticated high-tech failed operation to import €58m into Ireland, the Special Criminal Court heard today. In the second day of a sentence hearing before the three judge court sitting in Dublin Inspector Joseph Young was outlining the garda evidence gathered in the case. The accused who have pleaded guilty are: Dutch national Kiumaars Ghabiri (52), Spanish nationals Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz, (45), of no fixed address, Juan Antonio Gallardo Barroso, (56), of no fixed address, Pedro Pablo Ojeda Ortega, (36), of Cadiz; Angel Serran Padilla, (40), of Malaga; Anuar Rahui Chairi, (42), of Marbella; and Serbian national Aleksander Milic, (46). The men are charged with conspiracy to take possession for sale or supply of the cocaine under Section 15a of the Misuse Drugs Act. Today the court heard the nature of the cell structure of the team that came together to carry out the scheme. Young said that he considered the drugs trafficking conspiracy to be based around cooperative cell structures. He said the Dutch/Iranian cell played a role which was specific to the logistical part of the enterprise. Young showed several exhibits of photographs and CCTV of different gang members making their way to Ireland on flights from Lisbon and the UK as well as a ferry from Scotland to Northern Ireland. CCTV was also gathered of them buying equipment and downloaded seized phones which showed them taking selfies on their travels in Ireland, in the UK and in the Netherlands. In one picture there was even tourist pictures of Big Ben in London. In download there was a group photograph, at a location in the Netherlands, gang members were seen sitting smiling around a table. There was also evidence from Inspector Young that the high-powered and stealth style Rigid Inflatable Hulled Boat (RHIB) had been transported into Ireland inside a heavy goods truck. Its three 300 horsepower engines had been purchased by the criminals in Portugal. Images were shown of a rental truck used to transport the RHIB's engines across Europe. Advertisement The RHIB was brought into the country through Rosslare from Dunkirk. Gardaí learned that it was intended to be held in a commercial premises in Swords Co Dublin but later it travelled onto Omagh in Co Tyrone where the haulage company that owned a large articulated truck used in the operation was located. Young told the court that the Spanish crew members were generally hired hands working as specialists in fast boat transfers. Each of the team had separate jobs including, for example, Milic who was making sure the fuel was clean – he was also, the garda said, acting as a 'notary' for the Irish crime group involved in the operation. There were others who were mechanics for the engines as well as other experts. The court was told that the RHIB crew were at sea in very challenging conditions for close to 48 hours. While there were specialist seats for the other crew members, Milic was forced to sit elsewhere in the high speed craft and this caused him to require dental treatment on his return. Ultimately the court was told the RHIB never met the mothership Cool Explorer due to the bad weather conditions. It traveled onto its ultimate destination of St Petersburg but dumped the drugs near Jutland on the coast of Denmark. The drugs found there had a GPS tracker on board which showed that it matched the Cool Explorer's route. Gardaí also found screenshots pictures in the phone gallery of devices used by the gang arrested by the detectives in Cork that showed geolocation images of mapping that included pins of locations off Denmark. Other data on the phones seized by the gardaí were videos of reconnaissance of locations by gang members. During cross examination by Senior Counsel Elizabeth O'Connell, who is representing Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz, Young described the nature of the crime as being 'failure in attempt but not failure in the intent.' When the barrister put it to the Inspector that his client was offered a payment of €15,000 to work in the trafficking operation he said he agreed that the Spanish crew members were 'hired for a fee'. The State's evidence has ended and the defence barristers will continue their mitigation tomorrow before the court will adjourn to a sentencing date. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
Anti-bugging devices, a stealth speedboat and how a 10 man drugs gang lost €58m worth of cocaine
AN INTERNATIONAL drugs gang, staying in West Cork holiday homes used anti-bugging devices and a stealth speedboat in a botched operation to import €58m worth of cocaine into Ireland. The Special Criminal Court heard details today of how the men, who were Spanish, Dutch/Iranian, Serbian and Irish nationals were involved in the scheme. In the court today Inspector Joseph Young told the court today that there were two reasons the suspects were caught by gardaí. At a late night routine checkpoint gardaí stopped a car with two men onboard. They were suspicious and nervous which resulted in gardaí searching them and a list of locations and GPS co-ordinates were discovered. The next moment where it went wrong for the crime group was that a local resident, living near the secluded Tragumna Pier in west Cork contacted gardaí when he saw men trying to load a high powered Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) in the back of a large truck. They were returning having failed to meet a so-called 'Mothership' off the coast of the Needles Point on the coast of Cornwall – they returned empty handed when they missed their rendezvous. This would lead to the arrest of ten suspects who were subsequently charged with an attempt to take possession of drugs with a value in excess of €13,000 – an offence under Section 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act on dates between 27 February and 14 March 2024. The accused who have pleaded guilty are: Dutch national from Rotterdam Kiumaars Ghabiri 52; Spanish nationals Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz, 45 of no fixed address, Spain; and Anuar Rahui Chairi, 42, from Marbella; and Serbian national Aleksander Milic, 46; Pedro Pablo Ojeda Ortega, 36 of Cadiz; and Angel Serran Padilla, 40, of Malaga. They were arrested with the lorry, a black Land Rover and the RHIB in Tragumna or in a Campervan in nearby Leap village – the area is located on the rugged coastline south of the town of Skibbereen. Three other men have pleaded not guilty and they will learn when their trials in the non-jury court will take place in the coming weeks. Young said the scheme began to unravel for the gang when two men, one of whom was Irish, were stopped at a garda checkpoint on the outskirts of the west Cork town of Bandon at the town land of Gully. The Inspector said that the uniform gardaí became suspicious because they were nervous and evasive when questioned at the late night roadside check. They were searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act and this resulted in them also being taken for a more thorough search in Bandon Garda Station. During the search a note was found with several isolated landing locations along the coast, six Air B&Bs and GPS coordinates for a location. The pier where gardaí arrested some of the men as they attempted to recover a speed boat in the early morning. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Tip from the public Gardaí then received information from a concerned member of the public who had become suspicious of activity at the secluded Tragumna Pier. The early morning caller to the gardaí saw an articulated truck backed down a slipway. It was also close to a camper van. Nearby there was also a black Land Rover and a white Ford transit van. Advertisement When gardaí crossed referenced the locations on the list they learned that they were all within eight kilometres of Tragumna. There enquiries then determined that the vehicles had been spotted at the Celtic Ross Hotel in the village of Rosscarbery. They then checked at the hotel and found one of the gang had checked in using a Rotterdam based credit card. Young said that gardaí then had enough to launch a operation as they believed there was an organised crime group attempting to import a large quantity of drugs. The garda inspector explained that the gang were due to use the RHIB to rendezvous with a 'mothership' – the slang term given to a larger ship bringing drugs across the Atlantic concealed in a legitimate cargo. Cool Explorer In this case the ship, the court heard, was called the Cool Explorer which had left Ecuador in early February, 2024. The ship was a large refrigerator vessel which was bringing a legitimate cargo from South America to St Petersburg in Russia – the drugs were concealed onboard. She was due to arrive in the Russian port on 17 March, 2024. The gardaí believe the gang had missed the drop off near the Cornish Coast, 30 nautical miles from Lands End, England and returned empty handed to west Cork. It is now known that on 14 and 15 March 2024 the Cool Explorer passed off the Danish coast near Jutland. After it passed that location 840 kilos of cocaine, worth an estimated €59m, washed ashore on a beach. A study of a GPS tracker attached to the haul showed that it matched the coordinates of the Cool Explorer. When a search was carried out by gardaí following the arrest of the men the Land Rover was discovered to have false plates and was in fact a vehicle stolen in Glasgow in the weeks before. The heavy goods vehicle was registered to a company in Northern Ireland which also had an operation in Bulgaria. In searches the gardaí found a significant amount of nautical equipment in the Air B&Bs. This included items bought in Portsmouth in South England, in a Decathlon store in Dublin and at a marine store in Cork city. This equipment included dry suits, wet suits and electronic devices. The technology included a satellite phone, more than 30 mobile phones, detectors to find listening or bugging devices and radios. Gary Delaney, a former Naval Service officer now working in consultancy surveyed the RHIB that was seized. The craft was hugely powerful with three 300 horsepower engines and 57 twenty litre drums of fuel. It had painted its white radar dish black, and just one light on the craft – all to make it as undetectable at sea as possible. There was no radar reflector on the craft also and Delaney told gardaí that there was no radio systems onboard. 'It was for the purpose of detecting but not being detected,' Young told the court. GPS devices, both onboard the RHIB and handheld units held by the men in the camper van all confirmed the gang was at Tragumna Pier. Gardaí also found evidence in the GPS system that the criminals had GPS data to help them match up with the track of the Cool Explorer. They also determined that the RHIB had traveled to meet the ship off Cornwall. The hearing is adjourned until tomorrow morning when Inspector Joseph Young continues his evidence. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
03-07-2025
- RTÉ News
Two men charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Co Cork
Two men have been charged in relation to the investigation into the seizure of cocaine worth around €31 million in Co Cork earlier this week. A quantity of suspected cocaine was found after a van was stopped in the Courtmacsherry area on Wednesday. Two men, aged in their 30s and 30s, were arrested at the scene. They have since been charged and are due before Bandon District Court later this morning. Two other men, also aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested by gardaí after being detained at sea on a boat off the Co Cork coast. They remain in garda custody. It is understood the drugs were transferred, under surveillance, from a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) into an English-registered van at Broadstrand at around 4am on Wednesday. A van, with two men in it, was intercepted near Courtmacsherry by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and armed officers from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. An estimated 443kg of cocaine - believed to have originated in South America and for the UK market - was seized and has since been sent to Dublin for analysis. Two other men on board the RHIB which left Broadstrand, were later arrested off the coast of Cork by armed members on board two Irish Naval Service RHIBs launched by LE William Butler Yeats (P63). They were arrested by gardaí once P63 returned to its base at Haulbowline in Cork harbour. The RHIB was handed over to Revenue to be detained. It is the largest seizure of cocaine since the haul of 2.25 tonnes on the MV Matthew off the Cork coast in September 2023.
The Journal
02-07-2025
- The Journal
Customs team begin 'deep rummage' search of suspected mothership in wake of €31m cocaine bust
CUSTOMS OFFICERS HAVE begun a detailed specialist search of a cargo ship as part of the investigation into the seizure of €31m worth of cocaine, The Journal has learned. The large ship was unloading its cargo at an Irish port this morning having arrived in Ireland yesterday from South America. Yesterday morning, in a large-scale operation , in the seas off the west Cork town of Courtmacsherry, members of the Naval Service, Revenue Customs and gardaí captured the crew of a Rigid Inflatable Hulled Boat (RHIB) and two men in a van allegedly moving the drugs. It is believed that the cocaine had been landed at Broad Strand near the town at around 4am yesterday. Gardaí later stopped the van with the two men on board. The pair were from Germany and the UK, sources said. Out at sea it's understood the RHIB that had delivered the drugs fled and was pursued by two Naval Service armed fast boats. The Journal observed as both of those speed boat suspects were arrested yesterday by detectives at Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork Harbour. It's also emerged that the two men aboard the speed boat had arrived in a town in West Cork in recent days having travelled from the UK by sea. The crew of the LÉ William Butler Yeats had arrived off Courtmacsherry shortly after 2.30pm. Advertisement The Yeats was the vessel from which the operation to net Ireland's biggest drugs seizure – - from the MV Matthew – was launched, in 2023 . Sources have said the smuggling operation was a similar method as with the Matthew – the so-called mothership had arrived into Irish waters from a South American port. She was then allegedly met by the RHIB which conveyed the drugs back to shore. It is believed that this was an international drugs gang as opposed to an Irish-only operation, although criminals in Ireland are suspected to be involved. The intelligence for the operation came from abroad and national units, while Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau were leading the Garda side of the operation. The National Surveillance Unit and other specialised national teams were also involved. Revenue Customs investigators were also heavily involved and the Joint Task Force, which is a multi-agency group which deals with largescale interdictions, was stood up. Their specialist search team have been performing a 'deep rummage' search of the cargo ship this morning, and this is likely to go on for a number of days. This is a highly skilled and specialised activity carried out by Customs officers wearing breathing apparatus and occurs deep inside the ship. Despite some reports, the Army Ranger Wing were not involved on this occasion and the military side of the intervention was handled by the Naval Service with surveillance assistance from the CASA C295 Maritime patrol aircraft based in Baldonnel. The four men arrested in the initial stages of the operation continue to be questioned under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act. It is understood the alleged offences they have been arrested for are for enhancing the ability of an organised crime group to commit offences in the State or abroad. Garda and Revenue Customs spokespeople did not respond to queries on the state of the investigation today, and said they could not comment as it was an ongoing operation. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
02-07-2025
- RTÉ News
Four remain in custody after €31m cocaine seizure
Four men are still being questioned in connection with the seizure of cocaine worth more than €31 million in Co Cork yesterday. The seizure followed a co-ordinated Joint Task Force Drugs Interdiction operation involving gardaí, Revenue and the Defence Forces, both on land and at sea. The four men - two Scottish, one English and one German - and aged in their 30s and 40s, are being held at Bandon and Togher garda stations. It is understood the drugs were transferred, under surveillance, from a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) into an English-registered van at Broadstrand at around 4am yesterday. The van, with two men in it - one Scottish, the other German - was intercepted near Courtmacsherry by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and armed officers from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. An estimated 443kgs of cocaine - believed to have originated in South America and for the UK market - was seized and has since been sent to Dublin for analysis. Two other men on board the RHIB which left Broadstrand, were later arrested off the coast of Cork by armed members on board two Irish Naval Service RHIBs launched by LE William Butler Yeats (P63). The two, one Scottish, the other English, were arrested by gardaí once P63 returned to its base at Haulbowline in Cork harbour yesterday afternoon. The RHIB was handed over to Revenue to be detained. It is the largest seizure of cocaine since the haul of 2.25 tonnes on the MV Mathew off the Cork coast in September 2023.
