Four men charged in connection with €150m cocaine seizure off Cork coast
Vitaliy Vlasoi, one of the men who appeared at Mallow District Court charged in connection with the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of the State. Picture: Dan Linehan
Four men have been remanded in custody in Cork in connection with the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of the State.
Saeid Hassani, aged 37, Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 31, Vitaliy Vlasoi, aged 31, and Cumali Ozgen, aged 48, were brought to Mallow District Court under a heavy Garda presence and the Garda Armed Support Unit on Tuesday morning.
The four men were charged with conspiracy to have in their possession, on September 24, cocaine for sale or supply in contravention of section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, with a value of more than €13,000, an offence contrary to section 15a of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Detective Garda David Moran of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) gave evidence of arrest, charge, and caution of Mr Gavryk, a Ukrainian national, who was assisted in court by an interpreter.
Mr Gavryk made no reply to the charge after caution in a Cork Garda station.
Detective Garda Mark Donovan of the GNDOCB gave evidence of arrest, charge, and caution of Mr Ozgen, from The Hague, Netherlands. The Dutch national made no reply after he was charged on Monday, the court heard.
Detective Garda Val Russel gave evidence of arrest, charge, and caution of Mr Vlasoi, a Ukrainain national, in Cobh Garda Station on Monday.
After he was charged under caution, Mr Vlasoi said: “I saw straight or direct evidence of the connection between the captain and another vessel or with somebody else who he contacted. It was shown as straight evidence. I didn’t see straight evidence against myself.”
The accused was given a copy of the charge sheet, the court heard.
Solicitor Joe Cuddigan requested access to the MV Matthew, the large cargo ship on which some 2.25 tonnes of cocaine were found off the Cork coast last week.
Mr Cuddigan said he required access to the ship to properly defend his client, before the ship was materially changed in the course of the Garda search and investigation. Judge Colm Roberts noted his application.
Detective Garda Lorraine Brennan of the GNDOCB gave evidence of arrest, charge, and caution of Mr Hassani at Cobh Garda Station on Monday.
The Iranian national required a Farsi interpreter, said his solicitor, Don Ryan. Mr Hassani made no reply after arrest, charge, and caution, the court heard. Mr Ryan also requested access to the MV Matthew in order to represent his client.
Judge Roberts said the request was at a “premature stage” as the investigation was still under way, but he noted Mr Ryan’s application to board the vessel before fundamental changes were made to the ship during the Garda search.
All four men were remanded in custody to appear before Mallow District Court via video link on October 10, with the aid of interpreters. Legal aid issues were adjourned until next week.
The State applied for all four men to be remanded in custody. Bail cannot be dealt with at district court level for the drug conspiracy charges involved, Sergeant Linda O’Leary told the court.
The four men are the latest to be charged in connection with the major drug seizure off the Cork coast.
More than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine was recovered from the Panamanian cargo ship MV Matthew last week. The haul has an initial value of €157m but may have a street value of some €500m once it has been cut, or diluted, with cheaper substances.
Soheil Jelveh, an Iranian national who captained the MV Matthew before it was intercepted at gunpoint by elite defence force personnel, gardaí, and the navy on September 24, was before Wexford District Court on Monday.
He was charged with importing cocaine with a street value of more than €13,000; possession of cocaine; and possession of cocaine for sale or supply. He was remanded in custody to appear before Wexford District Court via videolink on October 9.
A UK national, James Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, UK, and Vitaliy Lapa, aged 60, a Ukrainian national of no fixed abode, were before Waterford District Court on Friday, charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
The two men had been airlifted off a fishing trawler after it ran aground on a sandbar off the Wexford coast. The fishing boat, called the Castlemore, had been bought days previously in Castletownbere, West Cork.
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