Cocaine with an estimated street value of between €70m and €80m has been seized on board a yacht off the southwest coast.
*Three men, aged in their 30s and 40s, will be questioned by detectives in Cork today in connection with the seizure of a tonne of cocaine off the southwest coast.
A fourth man, aged 43, has been arrested in west Yorkshire in England in a follow-up operation.
The haul, estimated to be worth between €70 and €80m, is believed to be one of the biggest drugs seizures at sea in Europe this year.
Just before 11pm yesterday the 18 metre yacht Makayabella arrived at the Naval Service headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork harbour, escorted by the naval vessel LÉ Róisín.
On board the yacht was 1,000 kilos of cocaine which, depending on purity, could have a street value of up to €80m.
A detailed examination of the yacht will begin later this morning.
It will include a forensic sweep of the vessel, although it is understood that significant evidence has already been gleaned from the yacht, leading to a follow-up operation by the UK's National Crime Agency in west Yorkshire.
The Naval Service says none of the bales of cocaine on board the yacht have yet been removed.
Speaking on RTÉs Morning Ireland, Commander Eric Timon of the Naval Service said the vessel remains under armed guard at a secure location in the naval base in Haulbowline.
Mr Timon said it will be subject to a forensic examination by the customs and the gardaí later this morning.
They would assess the quantity and quality of the controlled substances on board, he added.
Mr Timon said the operation was based on intelligence received by the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French customs service, via the maritime analysis and operations centre based in Lisbon.
The yacht was 200 nautical miles off Mizen Head when the seizure was made.
It was boarded under cover of darkness in the early hours of Tuesday.
The crew are not believed to have put up resistance.
The shipment is understood to have originated in South America, while the yacht set sail from the Caribbean.
It is not known at this stage if the drugs were due to be landed in Ireland for movement to the UK or if they were due to be brought ashore in the UK directly.
The vessel is believed to be in poor condition following its transatlantic crossing.
Drugs worth up to €80m seized off southwest coast
*Three men believed to be from the UK were detained on board the 18-metre yacht, the Makayabella.
The yacht tonight arrived on tow into Haulbowline in Cork.
A full garda technical examination of the vessel will get under way in the morning.
The seizure of around a tonne of cocaine is believed to be one of the biggest drugs seizures at sea in Europe this year.
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It was boarded under cover of darkness in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The crew are not believed to have put up resistance.
Lieutenant Commander Eric Timon of the Naval Service described the seizure as "extremely significant".
The operation was coordinated in Ireland by the Joint Task Force on Drug Interdiction, a government body set up to combat drug smuggling.
The operation involved the Naval Service, Revenue's Customs Service and gardaí. It has been ongoing for some time.
The Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre for Narcotics, based in Lisbon in Portugal, is also understood to have been involved in the operation, along with Britain's National Crime Agency, as well as security and customs agencies elsewhere.
The shipment is understood to have originated in South America, while the yacht set sail from the Caribbean.
It is believed to have been due to rendezvous or "cooper" with another vessel, although this has not been confirmed.
It is not known at this stage if the drugs were due to be landed in Ireland for movement to the UK or if they were due to be brought ashore in the UK directly.
Dozens of bales of cocaine are believed to have been concealed on board the yacht.
Details of the operation were kept secret to facilitate follow-up investigations, both in Ireland and abroad.
The vessel is believed to be in poor condition following its transatlantic crossing.
*UPDATE:
By Eoin English
The Irish Naval Service has seized cocaine with a street value of up to €100m on a yacht off the Irish coast after a major intelligence-led operation.
Two naval vessels, the LE Niamh and the LE Roisin, are now escorting the yacht Makayabella to naval service headquarters in Haulbowline in Cork Harbour where they are expected to arrive amid tight security later this evening.
The Irish Navy ship, LE Niamh, with the yacht, Makayabella. Picture: Defence Forces
An armed boarding party stormed the yacht on Tuesday 200 miles (320km) off Mizen Head, soon after it entered Irish waters.
The vessel had been tracked as it sailed from the Caribbean. The operation was kept secret while investigations continued.
Commercial photo of the yacht 'Makayabella', boarded in the operation.
They found up to 40 bales of cocaine stashed on board, with a potential street value of up to €100m.
Three men on board, who are believed to have UK passports, have been taken in to custody.
The drugs bust is the latest in a series of high-profile drug seizures executed by the Irish Defence Forces Naval Service.
In the last six years, it has intercepted some €1.2bn worth of drugs in Irish waters in a series of daring counter-narcotics operations.
In a statement his evening from the Defence Forces and Revenue, they said the operation was a joint mission comprising members of the Revenue Customs Service, Naval Service and An Garda Síochána.
The interception followed intelligence from the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French custom service, through the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre based in Lisbon.
File photo of a naval team in training for boarding operations. Pic: Denis Minihane
Defence Minister Simon Coveney congratulated all the agencies involved in what he described as a highly successful drug interdiction operation.
“As Minister for Defence, I wish to congratulate the Naval Service for its pivotal role in the success of this operation and, in particular, to commend the Officers Commanding LE Niamh and LE Roisin and their respective crews,” he said.
“I also wish to acknowledge the role of the Air Corps in providing top-cover support during the operation.”
The passage around the south west coast of Ireland has been well used in recent times by drugs smugglers bringing shipments from South America and Africa into Europe.
In 2007, a record €440m worth of cocaine was seized in Dunlough Bay in west Cork when a UK gang botched an attempt to bring the massive haul ashore on a smaller boat and capsized in rough weather.
Most of the group, including two Englishmen, were arrested in follow up operations and eventually given lengthy prison sentences.
Just a year later, a €400m haul was intercepted on the Dances With Waves yacht about 150 miles off Mizen Head.
Three British men on board were later jailed for 10 years each for their part in the plot.
Statement from the Defence Forces and Revenue:
The Inter Agency operation was conducted using two naval vessels and interagency personnel, at night and in challenging conditions between 200 and 300 miles West South West of Mizen Head.
The L.E. NIAMH supported by LE ROISIN positively identified a suspect vessel in a covert surveillance operation. The decision was made by the JTF situated in the Naval Operations Command Centre in Haulbowline to deploy an armed Naval boarding party, which resulted in the successful detention by Revenue’s Customs Service of the yacht, suspected contraband and the crew of three.
After Naval Service personnel secured the vessel, members of An Garda Síochána and Revenue’s Customs Service were transferred to the yacht and conducted a search of the vessel, which is currently under escort by Naval vessels to an Irish port.
The quantity and type of contraband will be reviewed once the vessel has been brought to port.
The operation was based on intelligence provided by the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French customs service DNRED via the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC (N)) based in Lisbon.
MAOC-N is an initiative by 7 EU Member Countries: France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, with financial support from the Prevention against Crime Programme of the European Union, European Commission - Directorate - General Home Affairs. The Centre provides a forum for multi-lateral cooperation to suppress illicit drug trafficking by sea and air.
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