Gardaí analyse drug yacht for Irish role in operation
The haul is thought to be a significant portion of the annual British cocaine consumption.
The gang behind the importation of the 1,025kg of cocaine are based in Yorkshire and three of their members caught on the drug-running yacht Makayabella, who are currently detained by gardaí — the skipper, aged 70, and two drugs mules, aged 35 and 28 — are also from the same region.
Britain’s National Crime Agency also arrested two men believed to be associated with the intercepted shipment. One of them, aged 43, was released last night on police bail “pending further inquiries”.
A NCA spokeswoman said he was arrested in Leeds “on suspicion of conspiring to import class A drugs” and a 47-year-old from the same area remains in custody.
Meanwhile, police are searching for another man who “has gone on the run” and said to be wanted as “he’s significant in terms of the investigation”.
The Makayabella’s charts will be analysed by experts to see if she was to have unloaded her cargo here before it was sent to Britain, or if she had intended to rendezvous with smaller boats off the coast of Anglesea, north Wales.
That was the intended destination of the yacht Dances with Waves, which was intercepted by the navy in 2008 with €600m of cocaine onboard and it is possible that members of the same gang are involved with the Makayabella venture.
Assistant Commissioner John O’Mahoney said gardaí could not rule out Irish connections and were investigating drugs gangs here who may provide a safe haven for importation off the south-west coast, or subsequently import cocaine from their British counterparts.
One thing is certain, the amount of cocaine onboard the 19m yacht was not destined for the small Irish market.
Security sources here estimate that, even during the heady days of the Celtic Tiger, about a third of the Makayabella cargo would have supplied Irish cocaine users for a year.
While some cocaine may have filtered back to Ireland over the years from Britain, its usage there is gigantic in comparison.
NCA boss Frank Cole said the Makayabella would only feed 5% of British annual consumption of cocaine.
However, he was quick to praise the role of the Irish security services in seizing the cargo.
“Thanks to the co-operation between the NCA and our Irish, French, and Venezuelan colleagues, we have managed to prevent this cocaine reaching our streets and causing damage to communities. I pay tribute to all those involved,” said Mr Cole.
The Irish Navy, in co-operation with gardaí and customs, has to date intercepted 4.2 tonnes of cocaine shipments in and around our 1m sq km of territorial waters.
A former Irish navy commander was responsible for setting up a seven-nation EU anti-drugs taskforce, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, to combat transatlantic drug shipments.
Based in Portugal, it correlates information from military, police, and customs officials from the seven countries and was responsible for directing the seizure of the Makayabella.
