Gardaí examine phone after drugs haul

Gardaí are to examine a satellite phone and other communications equipment seized aboard a yacht carrying €80 million worth of cocaine off the coast of Co Cork.

They hope these will provide information on where the drugs were destined for and who was behind the drugs smuggling operation.

Detectives last night obtained an extension to allow them continue questioning three Britons found on board the Makayabella when she was boarded by armed members of the Naval Service from the LÉ Niamh some 400km off Mizen Head early on Tuesday.

The three men, aged 70, 35 and 28 and from West Yorkshire, were arrested when they came ashore at Haulbowline Naval Base at 11pm on Wednesday under drug trafficking legislation, which allows gardaí hold suspects for up to seven days for questioning.

Operation

The operation was carried out by the Joint Task Force on Drug Interdiction and involved members of the Naval Service, the Customs Service and officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit working in conjunction with agencies in the UK, France and Portugal.

Among the agencies involved in the operation was the National Crime Agency in the UK and yesterday it confirmed that it had arrested a 47-year-old man in Leeds, bringing to two the number of people it has arrested for questioning about the seizure.

The NCA also confirmed it had searched a number of premises in West Yorkshire and was continuing to search for a third person in connection with the shipment.

It is believed the Makayabella collected the one-tonne consignment of drugs off Venezuela in early August. It apparently lost its main sail and ran out of diesel when crossing the Atlantic and was making slow progress eastward when it was boarded.

“The crew were also low on rations and were pretty exhausted when the Naval Service party boarded them,” said one informed source. “In fact, I’d imagine they were almost glad to see them because the whole trip had turned into something of a nightmare for them.”

Theory

Although investigators have yet to establish a definite destination for the drugs, one theory being examined closely by the international agencies involved is that the drugs may have been transferred to a coopering vessel to be brought ashore in north Wales.

Meanwhile, Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahony said yesterday a test on a sample taken from one of the 41 bales found in the galley and hull of the Makayabella confirmed it was cocaine. Further tests will be necessary to confirm its purity and ultimate street value, he said.

Garda technical experts carried out a forensic examination of the 25kg bales on board the yacht before the drugs were removed on to the quayside at the eastern basin of the Naval Service base in Haulbowline.

The vessel had been towed into the basin on Wednesday night by the Naval Service training yacht Creidne, escorted by armed Naval Service personnel. She remained there overnight under armed guard.