Gardaí were last night searching in west Cork for two Englishmen they believe are linked to the biggest cocaine seizure in the history of the State after drugs estimated to be worth €107 million were found off the Mizen Peninsula on Monday.
International police and naval forces using satellites are involved in efforts to trace the so-called "mother ship" believed to have unloaded the drugs off the southwest coast. They were due to be picked up by two small boats which capsized.
Another 26kg bale of cocaine was recovered from rocks in Dunlough Bay at lunchtime yesterday bringing the number of bales recovered to 61.
The search for the two Englishmen was taking place as Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy and Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy were meeting Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan to brief him on developments.
The Englishmen were first spotted in the area by local people on Monday. The search for them was intensified after a reported sighting near Toormore between Schull and Goleen yesterday. Garda checkpoints were established throughout the remote area to frustrate any escape attempt.
The two men are second generation Irish with strong family links to the Mizen Peninsula, which they frequently visit. One of their relatives has a holiday home in the area. They are both in their 40s and are believed to have travelled to the area three weeks ago to prepare for the arrival of the cocaine shipment which was likely to be bound eventually for the UK. Gardaí believe a group of up to eight men may have been involved in the efforts to land the drugs.
The plan was scuppered when two rigid inflatable boats (ribs) capsized in rough seas in Dunlough Bay early on Monday as they were trying to bring more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine ashore after it had been dropped in the sea by the "mother vessel".
A 22-year-old-man who swam ashore early on Monday was questioned throughout yesterday in Bantry Garda station. He has given an Irish name and an address in Co Monaghan but he has lived in the UK and Spain in recent times. His details are being cross-checked with the Spanish and British authorities.
A man in his 40s who was rescued from the sea on Monday morning remains in a comfortable condition at Bantry General Hospital. He has claimed to be a South African national resident in the UK but gardaí are still trying to confirm his identity. The UK address he supplied is false. Gardaí believe these two men may have connections to Liverpool.
Customs officers recovered one rib in the water late on Monday night and a second rib was recovered near Durrus yesterday along with a small dinghy.
Ferry company records are being checked to see when four English-registered vehicles, which have been seized, entered the State.
The Garda investigating team led by Det Supt Tony Quilter is trying to piece together the movements of the boats and four vehicles seized.