State can dispose of €100,000/week cost of maintaining ship seized in drug haul 

The judge put a stay of two weeks on the order, but has allowed the State to 'put into train' the process of disposal immediately

The men face drugs and organised crime charges after some 2.25 tonnes of cocaine was seized from the Panamanian-registered large bulk carrier MV Matthew in Irish waters in September 2023. File Picture: Niall Carson/PA

A court has ordered that the State can dispose of the €100,000/week cost of maintaining a cargo ship alleged to have been used in one of the largest drugs' hauls in Irish history.

The State has been paying €100,000 every week since the MV Matthew was seized in dramatic fashion when the specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, the army rangers, stormed it in September 2023.