FIVE men arrested on board the Jamaican registered tug seized off the west coast are still being held by gardai for questioning under anti drug trafficking laws.
On Saturday night, Galway District Court granted gardai a further 72 hour extension for the detention of four men arrested when the vessel was towed into Galway harbour last Thursday. Two are from Canada, one is from Brazil and the other is from the Netherlands.
A fifth member of the nine man crew, a Dutch national, was arrested by gardai on Saturday and is also being held under the anti trafficking laws, which allow detention without charge for seven days.
No drugs or contraband have been found on the ship, which was detected after it developed engine trouble in high seas off the west coast last week. The gardai have contacted foreign police forces who have expressed an interest in the activities of the ship and its, crew.
The ship's captain told gardai he left Rotterdam on January 23rd under directions from a shipping agent to head for St Petersburg, but he was then redirected to Belfast. He told gardai that, before docking there, he was redirected to the Azores and was on his way south when he ran into. difficulties.