Cuts to navy ‘would entice drug lords to land here’

The man who broke a code which helped jail the British gangster who organised €500m drug shipment says this county “will be in grave danger of further large importation attempts” if there are any cuts to the Naval Service.

Eugene Ryan, a former navy commander who co-ordinated the interception of the yacht Dances with Waves off the south-west coast in Nov 2008, warned that drugs lords will target Ireland if they see any weakness in the country’s ability to effectively protect its waters.

The senior officer, who retired from the navy in January, found a series of figures onboard the seized yacht which would have meant nothing to an untrained eye.