Irish shipping agent denies buying boat for $40m drug run

A WATERFORD shipping agent accused of supplying boats to international drug dealers has pleaded with Spanish police to let him return to Ireland without seeking his arrest.

Joseph Anthony O’Connor, who is wanted in Spain for allegedly buying a specially-equipped boat for a $40 million (€33 million) hashish shipment, is hoping to return to Ireland and his shipping business in Vigo in north-west Spain.

He is currently living in San Diego and hoping to negotiate a safe return to Ireland and Spain. He has made several requests to the US Attorney’s Office in San Diego to intervene.

However, the US government says Spanish authorities will not accept negotiations in the US and Mr O’Connor must return to Spain if he wants to answer the hashish charges.

Mr O’Connor is in the US on a travel visa and must soon leave the country. Spanish authorities have indicated they will seek his extradition from Ireland if he returns here.

Last month, a US judge refused to extradite Mr O’Connor citing lack of evidence and because a statement by Spanish authorities was not properly sworn.

Mr O’Connor, aged 54, with a business address at Cerqueiros Street, Vigo, Spain strongly denies the charges and says he wants to explain his story to the Spanish authorities.

He was arrested in San Diego last October after US Customs and Border Protection agents discovered an Interpol warrant for his arrest on charges of buying a former British government research vessel, the Squilla, on behalf of a drug cartel.

Spanish customs officials raided the Squilla last June and found 8.8 tonnes of hashish worth about $40m (e33m).

They arrested the crew: two Scots, an Estonian and a Moroccan and arrested three other people. According to legal documents, Spanish authorities say one crew member told them O’Connor knew the ship would be used for drug dealing.

They also claim that, three months before the seizure, the captain of the expedition, Douglas Alla Price, aged 49, from Irvine, Scotland inspected the Squilla in Vigo, Spain, and called to a nearby building where two of Mr O’Connor’s shipping companies are located.

Mr O’Connor’s lawyer, Antonio Yoon, said the San Diego extradition case showed there was no evidence against Mr O’Connor and he should be allowed to return to Ireland and Spain unhindered. He said that Spanish authorities had misinterpreted a member of the crew’s statement.

The ship Mr O’Connor purchased in San Diego, and in which he is currently living, the Svesda Maru, was seized off the coast of Mexico in April 2001 with 10 tonnes of cocaine onboard, the largest US high seas cocaine seizure at that time.

Mr Yoon said Mr O’Connor’s business was completely legitimate and small ships can change hands many times without the knowledge of ship brokers.