Judge urges DPP to prioritise case against five men in connection with Ireland’s biggest drugs seizure
The five men are facing charges in relation to the seizure of more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated value of more then €157 million that was discovered aboard the MV Matthew off the County Cork coast in September 2023. File picture: Dan Linehan
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has been urged to prioritise proceedings in the cases of five men currently being held in custody in relation to the biggest ever drugs haul in the history of the Irish State.
The five, Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 48; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 30; Iranian Saeid Hassani, 37, and Ukrainians Mykhalo Gavryk, 30, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, 31, all appeared via video link from Cork Prison at Mallow District Court.
They are facing charges in relation to the seizure of more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated value of more then €157 million that was discovered aboard the MV Matthew off the County Cork coast in September 2023.
Sergeant Majella O’Sullivan told the court that the State would be applying for a further four-week extension to the remand in custody of all five men as the DPP still required more time to finalise directions. The five men were all informed of the request via interpreters who were present in court.
Detective Sergeant Ronan McMorrow from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau told the court that members of the investigating team had met with officials from the DPP on Thursday, February 8. He said that they were informed that if no direction was forthcoming in four weeks' time a further, shorter extension would be requested.
He said that, because of the scope of the investigation and the amount of information that had to be examined, it was taking some time.
Judge Colm Roberts asked if there was any indication of when the case would be moving forward: “They’ve had the file since January and we will need some indication of when, if not in four weeks. They want to know when things are moving and I also want to know what the DPP situation is.
"They should be able to give a reasonable guesstimate at this stage. I appreciate something might happen in the meantime, absolutely, I’m just asking when do they expect to conclude their work, a guesstimate?”
Detective Sergeant Ronan McMorrow said that he had been informed by the DPP that they were treating the case with “the utmost urgency” and were prioritising the case. He added that the transnational nature of the case and a file of more than 3,000 pages meant that it was a complex matter.
Judge Roberts said: “I understand the dissatisfaction, what do they mean by priority? I take it they really mean priority in the old-fashioned sense where things are actually prioritised.”
Don Ryan, solicitor for Saeid Hassani said: “This is his 11th time in court, he was charged on October 3rd. There’s been no court appearance, there’s no future in sight, this is going on and on.”
Judge Roberts said he sympathised with Mr Ryan’s frustration adding: “I don’t really see why you shouldn’t write directly to the DPP, it is out of garda hands at this stage. A clear explanation and timeframe is required from the DPP. If they can say it will take X they can explain why, that’s reasonable, it’s not criticism it’s clarification.”
Four of the accused men agreed via their legal representatives to appear again at Mallow District Court on March 12, 2024, by video link from Cork Prison. Solicitor Aiden Desmond requested that his client Harold Estoesta appear in three weeks on March 5 due to “some issues” within Cork Prison that was agreed to by Judge Roberts.
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