South American cartels 'putting European boats into storage' to use later for drug trafficking

Minister of state James Browne visited the EU anti-drug trafficking agency Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre in Portugal. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

South American gangs are buying boats in Europe and putting them into storage for years only to later use them for transporting cocaine across the Atlantic, minister of state at the Department of Justice James Browne has said.

After a visit to the EU anti-drug trafficking agency Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Maoc) in Portugal, Mr Browne said he was “very impressed” with the level of analysis being conducted into new methods being employed by cartels to ship cocaine into Europe.

He met with a garda and a customs officer who are based at the Lisbon facility.

Ireland was a founding member of Maoc in 2007. The agency is tasked with combating cocaine and cannabis trafficking in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and uses naval and other military assets in its operations.

The organisation has seen a sharp increase in cocaine seizures in recent years - from eight tonnes in 2016 to 30 tonnes in 2019, rising to a high of 40 tonnes in 2022, with around four tonnes already seized this year.

Much of the seizures have taken place off the coast of west Africa, which is one of the main trafficking routes across the Atlantic, for onward distribution to the ports of western Europe.

'Impressed with Maoc'

“I was very impressed with Maoc,” said Mr Browne. “The level of analysis that happens here is hugely important.

“They are seeing a change in the trafficking route. While originating countries remain mostly the same, the trafficking route is across to the coast of Africa, where it is transported onto smaller boats into Europe.” 

He said a lot of Maoc’s success was down to deepening co-operation with west African countries, including Senegal, where Ireland is also opening an embassy.

He said analysis showed that the traffickers were using smaller river boats to transport cocaine across the Atlantic, which they are not suitable for, in order to avoid detection.

“Maoc are tracking boats that may be bought somewhere in Europe,” he said. “Those boats disappear, literally, off the radar and turn up two years later. They [traffickers] buy boats, put them into storage for a couple of years. They are no longer recognised and then turn up again [to transport drugs].” 

He said he was also impressed by the garda and customs officer to whom he spoke: “They were able to articulate the relevance of what they are doing and the importance of being there.” 

The minister said there are police and customs members from each participating country, who are working on the same floor in an open-plan area.

“It builds up trust,” he said. “There is a lot of information and it can be broken down quickly and avoids laborious bureaucratic channels. It's a conduit of information home.” 

He said Irish information can be fed into Maoc, which ultimately can lead, as has happened, to interdictions off the coast of Africa.

Mr Browne accepted that the Irish naval service is facing challenges, as reflected in announcements by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin that the number of operational vessels had been cut from six to four due to staffing.

The former director of Maoc, ex-garda assistant commissioner Michael O’Sullivan, recently told the Irish Examiner that the Irish navy was crucial for intervening in the North Atlantic and that the cuts would be exploited by South American cartels.