A man found floating in the ocean next to 65 bales of cocaine has had his 30-year prison sentence for one of the State’s largest ever drugs haul cut to 23 years by the Court of Appeal.

Coastal communities and fishermen can play a key role in the war against international drugs smuggling.

Lawyers for a man found floating in the ocean next to 65 bales of cocaine have told the Court of Appeal that their client was a “bungling stevedore” in one of Ireland largest ever drugs hauls, rather than a “lieutenant”.

A sequel could be on the cards after a successful opening weekend for The Young Offenders.

Best known for making the ‘Horse Outside’ video for the The Rubberbandits, Cork director Peter Foott looks set for another step towards the big time with his debut feature film.

A man convicted for his role in the smuggling of €440m worth of cocaine off the coast of Cork claims he should not have been convicted for sale and supply because the drugs were not destined for this country.

Interest is already strong in a unique 93-acre residential coastal holding at Oughmina near Goleen, at the southern tip of Ireland.

An Englishman jailed for his role in the largest drugs seizure in the history of the State has had his 30-year jail term reduced on appeal to 17 and a half years.

A decision will be made next month in the case of an Englishman who successfully appealed his 30-year prison sentence for his role in the biggest drug seizure in the history of the State.

The Coast Guard has issued a warning after racing pigeons and a flare triggered a search operation in West Cork at the weekend.

A Cork judge erred in sentencing an Englishman to 30 years imprisonment for his role in the biggest drugs seizure in the history of the State, the Court of Criminal Appeal has found.

A luxury yacht which was seized last September carrying €80m of cocaine is to be auctioned off by the State.

Members of the gardaí and navy have started unloading the one tonne haul of cocaine seized on a yacht off the Cork coast in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Three men, believed to be British, are being questioned by Irish drugs squad officers today after a yacht was intercepted with a suspected cargo of cocaine believed to be worth around €80m.

The West Cork coastline has long been a favourite drop-off point for drugs traffickers as they’ve seen it as an easy ‘back-door route’ into Britain.

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.

He’s the 2005 elephant polo world champion; he was Ireland’s first ever competitor in the Sumo world championships in Japan; he holds the world-record for the three-legged marathon in Cork, and founded the whacky Paddy Games.

Three-quarters of offenders convicted of drugs crimes which carry a minimum 10- year prison term are getting sentences shorter than that, analysis of court decisions shows.

An Englishman jailed here for his role in one of the country’s largest ever drugs haul has been re-arrested in Spain after escaping from a British jail.

History was made by two law enforcement officials when they became the first Irishmen to be presented with an award by Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) for their role in seizing nearly €1bn of drugs.

An appeal by an Englishman against his conviction for his role in the biggest drugs haul in Irish history has been dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

COBH, CO CORK €300,000

The leader of a €440m transatlantic cocaine trafficking plot which failed because of a fuel mix-up has been jailed for 20 years.

A man is to be sentenced in London next month for his role in the country’s largest ever drugs haul, when €440m worth of cocaine was recovered from the sea at Dunlough Bay in West Cork.

One of the county’s most respected crime-fighters has been appointed Garda Assistant Commissioner in the Southern Region.

Appeals brought by two men convicted in connection with the biggest-ever drugs haul in the history of the State have been adjourned to later this year.

One of the suspected ringleaders of a botched multimillion-pound cocaine smuggling plot has been arrested after being extradited from Spain.

A 45-year-old man is due to be charged in London today with conspiracy to bring cocaine into the UK, after the drugs were found off Dunlough Bay in west Cork more than five years ago.

Flares burned and horns sounded as one of Ireland’s busiest lifeboat crews sailed their new hi-tech vessel into its new harbour home yesterday.

THE heroic lifeboat crew involved in some of the state’s most dramatic rescues are training in England this week to prepare for the arrival of a state-of-the-art new vessel.

A PARISH priest said the decision to close his local Garda station, in Doon, Co Limerick, appeared to him as if the state is “handing over the community to criminals”.

THE Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed a British man’s appeal against the severity of a 25-year sentence for possession of cocaine in the state’s largest case of drug smuggling.

A SOPHISTICATED new €1.4 million vessel tracking system for the Naval Service is expected to boost the surveillance of drug smuggling ships.

THEY botched the biggest drugs shipment in Irish history and now the gang behind it have had to suffer the further ignominy of seeing their boats and jeeps sold off.

A British mechanic was cleared by a court in the UK today of playing a role in smuggling €227m of cocaine into the Republic of Ireland.

A British jury trying a mechanic accused of taking part in the biggest cocaine case ever seen in Ireland has retired to continue its deliberations today.

POLICE forces around the world are cooperating with gardaí in the hunt for at least six more individuals who were involved in the €400 million cocaine smuggling attempt off the Cork coast two years ago.

The High Court has ordered the extradition of English man Perry Wharrie, who is serving a 30-year jail sentence here for his role in a major cocaine smuggling operation in Co Cork.

THE High Court has reserved judgment in an application by the British authorities for the extradition of Englishman Perry Wharrie, who last July was jailed for 30 years for his role in a significant cocaine smuggling operation in Co Cork.

Local people were not really surprised at the latest landing in Castletownbere, writes Donal Hickey.

Gardaí in Cork are continuing to question three men in connection with yesterday's massive cocaine seizure.

YESTERDAY’S record €750 million seizure of cocaine brought the value of the drug netted off the west Cork coast to far in excess of €1 billion in just the last 18 months.

The youngest of the men involved in Ireland’s biggest ever drug-smuggling case was jailed for 10 years today as it was claimed that he ended up in jail because he stayed around to raise the alarm to save the life of a drowning accomplice.

ONE of the country’s most senior Garda officers says the force must keep up the pressure on heroin dealers in Cork and Limerick, otherwise the drug will blight those areas in the years ahead.

THE High Court adjourned an extradition request by the British authorities for 48-year-old Englishman Perry Wharrie, who was jailed for his role in a €400 million cocaine operation in Co Cork.

The High Court has adjourned an extradition request from the UK for 48-year-old English man Perry Wharrie who was jailed for 30 years for his role in a major cocaine smuggling operation in Co Cork.

Among the middle classes and the affluent, cocaine is the recreational drug of choice. In the aftermath of this week’s trial in Cork Allan Prosser looks at its history, its place in popular culture, and the threat it poses to society.

FOR the first time in 43 days in court Martin Wanden flinched yesterday — and that was at the moment he heard the sentencing judge say “30 years”.

One of the men who was jailed for 30 years for the €440m cocaine smuggling case was out on parole on a life sentence for murdering an English policeman.