Barry Rochechronicles some of the previous major drug seizures off the southwest coast
OVER THE past two decades, the southwest coast has become a favoured transhipment point for criminal gangs seeking to smuggle drugs from South America and North Africa into Europe. These include some of the biggest ever drugs seizures in Ireland.
The Karma:July 31st, 1991. Customs officers find 28 bales of cannabis resin worth €9 million when they search a yacht The Karma of the Eastat Courtmacsherry, Co Cork. Antiques dealer Christopher O'Connell from Cork was later jailed for eight years.
Brime:July 10th, 1993. Gardaí and Naval Service personnel combine to lure Brimeto a location off Loop Head in Co Clare where they board the yacht and find cannabis worth €25 million on board.
The principal figure behind the shipment, Briton David Huck, eluded gardaí but four crew members, Dubliner Gerry Fitzgerald, Englishman Wayne Bland, Dutch man Egbertus Marius Van Onzen and Belgian Frank Loopmans were each sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Sea Mist:September 29th, 1996. Converted trawler Sea Mistis forced to put into Cork harbour after failing to rendezvous with a yacht 160km west of Brest. Local suspicions were aroused when the boat moored at East Ferry and Customs, gardaí and the Naval Service were alerted.
A team under Customs enforcement officer Paddy O'Sullivan searched the trawler and found 599 kilos of cocaine worth €125 million.
Five crew went on trial, but only skipper Gordon Richards was convicted and jailed for 17 years.
Gemeos:September 4th, 1998. Customs officers and gardaí recover 325 kilos of cocaine worth £61 million when they searched catamaran Gemeosafter she put into Kinsale harbour following a transatlantic voyage.
Skipper John O'Toole, a native of Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, is jailed for 20 years and English crewman Michael Tune is sentenced to 14 years in jail for his part in the attempt to smuggle cocaine into Ireland.
Posidonia:November 19th, 1999. Converted trawler Posidoniais boarded by Naval Service personnel from the LE Ciaraaccompanied by Customs officers who find cannabis worth €18 million on board.
The consignment was picked up off Morocco and due to be off-loaded to a boat off the Irish coast for shipment ashore. Skipper Richard Preece was jailed for nine years and two other crew, fellow Englishmen Barry Court and Matthew Simkins were both jailed for seven years.
Lucky Day:July 2nd, 2007. The catamaran Lucky Daytransferred 1.5 tonnes of cocaine worth €440 million on to a boat 30 miles off Mizen Head, but the boat stalled when someone put diesel in its petrol engines and ended up capsizing in Dunlough Bay.
Two Englishmen, Martin Wanden and Perry Wharried, were both given 30-year sentences and a third, Joe Daly, was given 25 years after an eight-week trial.
A fourth man, Gerard Hagan, was given a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to his involvement.