Three held in connection with Makayabella cocaine seizure

Three men have been arrested in England following the seizure of about a tonne of cocaine from the yacht Makayabella by the Irish authorities.

The yacht was intercepted off the Irish coast last year with 41 bales of the drug on board.

The men, aged 31, 29 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to import class A drugs at addresses in Ilkley and Leeds yestersday, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said. The warrants were executed with assistance from West Yorkshire Police.

All three were questioned and have been bailed pending further inquiries until August 28.

The 62-foot yacht was intercepted in the Atlantic Ocean, 322km off the south-west coast of Ireland, last September.

Another vessel, known as the Sea Breeze, had to be rescued from the Irish Sea after it ran out of fuel 18 miles off Rosslare, Co Wexford.

After being towed ashore, authorities became suspicious at the large amount of food, drums of diesel, cannabis and satellite phones they found onboard.

Around the same time, a US merchant ship reported the Makayabella foundering in the Atlantic.

The Irish Navy sent two of its ships, the LE Niamh and the LE Roisin, to the scene and a six-man team stormed the vessel under darkness.