Nathan McDonnell got involved with international drugs cartel due to money worries, court told

The Kerry businessman is to be sentenced at a later date, probably before the end of the month, the court was told

Nathan McDonnell got involved in the operation which involved hiding the drugs in a large machine which arrived in Cork Port from Mexico via Antwerp in October 2023. File photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD

A Kerry businessman who was in financial trouble got involved with an international drugs cartel and agreed to store drugs worth €32m on his premises, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

Nathan McDonnell, with an address in Ballyroe, Tralee, has pleaded guilty to the importation of drugs and facilitating an organized crime group. He is the former CEO of the Ballyseedy Garden Centre outside the Co Kerry town. 

At his sentencing hearing, the court was told that the gardaí had been investigating the organized crime group for a year before the arrest of Mr McDonnell in February last year.

The group, based in Kerry, had links with the notorious Sinaloa drugs cartel which operates out of Mexico. The court was told that an unnamed individual and a Cork businessman had made arrangements for the importation of the drugs. 

The Cork man, who is now deceased, gained control of a legitimate company and used it as a front for the operation. A reputable business in Cork was approached to provide storing area for what purported to be a legitimate enterprise but the company’s owners became suspicious of the venture and pulled out.

Following that, Mr McDonnell got involved in the operation which involved hiding the drugs in a large machine which arrived in Cork Port from Mexico via Antwerp in October 2023.

The plan was to send the drugs onto Australia, again from Cork Port, but just as the machine was about to leave the jurisdiction the gardaí moved in and made arrests. 

At first, Mr McDonnell told them he was involved in what he thought was a legitimate enterprise but over the course of 23 interviews in custody he changed his story. 

He is to be sentenced at a later date, probably before the end of the month, the court was told.