Three men appeared in court in Cork over a drugs seizure on board a yacht
Four men, three in Ireland and one in the UK, have been charged in connection with the seizure of more than a tonne of cocaine off the Cork coast earlier this week.
* www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29357923
Three men, who have addresses in England, were brought before a special district court sitting in Cork tonight charged with drug trafficking and have been remanded in custody.
John Powell, 70, with an address at Silsden, West Yorkshire, in England was arrested by Garda
Jerome Twomey and charged at 7.25pm this evening. He replied that he understood the charge.
Thomas Britteon, 28, from North East Lincolnshire in England was arrested and charged by Detective Garda Tony Holmes ten minutes later.
Benjamin Mellor, 34, from Bradford in England was arrested by Det Garda Liam Brennan. He made no reply when charged.
All three face a single charge: trafficking of cocaine on a ship at sea with intent to import the drug.
Det Inspector Declan O'Sullivan asked Judge Olann Kelleher to remand all three in custody until next Thursday, when their cases will be dealt with via video link.
There were no objections to the application for a remand in custody by solicitors for all three.
Investigations are continuing in several jurisdictions into Tuesday morning's drugs seizure.
Meanwhile, investigators from the UK's National Crime Agency charged a 47-year old man in connection with their investigation into the seizure.
The man has been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United Kingdom. He has been remanded in custody and will be brought before Leeds Magistrates Court tomorrow morning.
www.drugfreeworld.org & www.drugscope.org.uk & www.drugs.ie
It also said three men believed to be from the UK were arrested on board the vessel in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The yacht, the Makayabella, was stormed by armed Irish sailors 200 miles off Mizen Head, County Cork.
The operation was carried out by a joint task force comprising members of the customs service, the Garda Síochána and navy. The task force works in conjunction with an international headquarters in Lisbon which monitors suspicious shipping coming into European territorial waters.
Two Irish naval vessels – LÉ Niamh and LÉ Roisin – identified the yacht in a surveillance operation in the Atlantic Ocean.
The drugs found are understood to have been smuggled from South America with the yacht sailing from a port in the Caribbean.
Up to 40 bales of cocaine are believed to have been concealed on board the yacht.
It was boarded under cover of darkness by specially trained armed sailors in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The crew are not believed to have put up resistance.
Details of the operation were kept secret until Wednesday evening to protect follow-up investigations in Ireland and abroad.
A spokesperson for the Irish Defence Forces said the operation was based on intelligence from the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French customs service, the DNRED.
The yacht has been taken by tow into the Haulbowline port near Cork City. Armed Irish military police have sealed off the naval base.
Some of the biggest drug seizures in recent times have been off the Irish coast, which is often used as a dropoff point for South American narcotics being smuggled into Europe.
The biggest seizure to date was the discovery of €440m worth of Colombian cocaine which was found in Dunlough Bay, west Cork, seven years ago.
That smuggling operation was compromised after the UK gang behind the plot overloaded a smaller boat to get the drugs to shore and filled a spare fuel tank with diesel instead of petrol.
The boat capsized in heavy seas and the majority of the gang were arrested before they could escape.
He appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court this morning, and is the forth man to be charged following last Tuesday’s seizure.
The Inter Agency operation, consisting of units from the Naval Service, Gardaí and Customs, was conducted using two naval vessels, in challenging conditions between 200 and 300 miles West South West of Mizen Head.
It is believed that the drugs have a street value of between €70 million and €80 million, but tests are still to be carried out.
It is one of the biggest hauls of drugs in Ireland in the past 10 years and one of the largest in Europe so far this year.
The operation, which came after weeks of surveillance, saw Irish agencies board the yacht Makayabella in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The three men detained on the yacht, named as John Powell (70) from West Yorkshire, Benjamin Mellor (35) from Bradford, and Thomas Britteon (28) from Grimsby, appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court last night, charged with possessing cocaine with intent to import.
The yacht, the Makayabella, was stormed by armed Irish sailors 200 miles off Mizen Head, County Cork.
The operation was carried out by a joint task force comprising members of the customs service, the Garda Síochána and navy. The task force works in conjunction with an international headquarters in Lisbon which monitors suspicious shipping coming into European territorial waters.
Two Irish naval vessels – LÉ Niamh and LÉ Roisin – identified the yacht in a surveillance operation in the Atlantic Ocean.
The drugs found are understood to have been smuggled from South America with the yacht sailing from a port in the Caribbean.
Up to 40 bales of cocaine are believed to have been concealed on board the yacht.
It was boarded under cover of darkness by specially trained armed sailors in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The crew are not believed to have put up resistance.
Details of the operation were kept secret until Wednesday evening to protect follow-up investigations in Ireland and abroad.
A spokesperson for the Irish Defence Forces said the operation was based on intelligence from the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French customs service, the DNRED.
The yacht has been taken by tow into the Haulbowline port near Cork City. Armed Irish military police have sealed off the naval base.
Some of the biggest drug seizures in recent times have been off the Irish coast, which is often used as a dropoff point for South American narcotics being smuggled into Europe.
The biggest seizure to date was the discovery of €440m worth of Colombian cocaine which was found in Dunlough Bay, west Cork, seven years ago.
That smuggling operation was compromised after the UK gang behind the plot overloaded a smaller boat to get the drugs to shore and filled a spare fuel tank with diesel instead of petrol.
The boat capsized in heavy seas and the majority of the gang were arrested before they could escape.
*A fourth man has appeared in court in relation to the seizure of €80 million worth of cocaine off the Irish coast.
The UK’s National Crime Agency said that Stephen Powell (47) was charged last night with conspiracy to import cocaine.He appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court this morning, and is the forth man to be charged following last Tuesday’s seizure.
The Inter Agency operation, consisting of units from the Naval Service, Gardaí and Customs, was conducted using two naval vessels, in challenging conditions between 200 and 300 miles West South West of Mizen Head.
It is believed that the drugs have a street value of between €70 million and €80 million, but tests are still to be carried out.
It is one of the biggest hauls of drugs in Ireland in the past 10 years and one of the largest in Europe so far this year.
The operation, which came after weeks of surveillance, saw Irish agencies board the yacht Makayabella in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The three men detained on the yacht, named as John Powell (70) from West Yorkshire, Benjamin Mellor (35) from Bradford, and Thomas Britteon (28) from Grimsby, appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court last night, charged with possessing cocaine with intent to import.
The three were remanded in custody and will appear before the same court by video link next Tuesday, the NCA said.
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