Pair played 'essential part' in 'highly professional international drug-trafficking operation', court told
The MV Matthew at Marino Point, Cobh, Co Cork. Up to 2.25 tonnes of cocaine was seized from the vessel. Picture: Dan Linehan
Two men who have gone on trial at the Special Criminal Court after the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history played an "essential part" in a "very sophisticated, complex and highly professional international drug-trafficking operation," the State alleges.
The court heard on Tuesday how the cargo ship carrying the 2.2 tonnes of cocaine attempted to evade capture but was followed "in hot pursuit" by the navy patrol vessel LE William Butler Yeats, with the chase concluding when members of the Army Rangers were inserted by the Air Corps and took control of the crew.
Many members of the ship's crew were unaware the vessel was being used to transport the drugs, with "significant care" taken to restrict their communications, while a "simulated journey" was uploaded to the navigation systems, the court also heard.
Iranian Saeid Hassani, aged 39, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, aged 31, have gone on trial at the non-jury court, where they deny having the cocaine for sale or supply on board the Panamanian bulk carrier MV Matthew, after what was the largest such seizure in Irish history.
In his three-and-a-half-hour opening speech, counsel for the State Sean Guerin SC told the non-jury court the two accused had played an important role individually and collectively in trying to bring the drugs operation to fruition.
Mr Guerin said the ship was interdicted after an operation by a joint task force comprising of members of the Revenue Customs Service, Naval Service and An Garda Síochána.
Describing the MV Matthew vessel, Mr Guerin said it was a bulk carrier ship or cargo ship used to transport products such as grain.
The ship, which was previously known as 'Honmon', is 190 metres long and 32 metres wide and while it was sailing under the flag of Panama, it was owned by a Dubai-based company known as 'Symphony Marine'.
He added: "It will be clear to the court that the change of name and relevantly recent change of ownership and the crewing of it very shortly before the transatlantic voyage were all just small parts of a very sophisticated, complex and highly professional international drug-trafficking operation."
"The [two] accused played only a part; nonetheless each had a very important, indeed an essential part," Mr Guerin told the court.
He said the master or captain was Iranian Soheil Jelveh and the chief officer or second in charge was Ukrainian national Vitaliy Vlasoi. Jelveh, he said, had remained in control of the vessel until September 25, 2023, when he was medically evacuated by the Irish coast guard and replaced by Vlasoi.
Counsel said the court will hear that after Jelveh was evacuated, taken to hospital and arrested, a number of encrypted telephone devices were found in his possession. An analysis revealed communications between him and others not on board the ship about arrangements for the transportation of the controlled drugs and the delivery of those drugs to a fishing vessel called the 'Castlemore'.
Mr Guerin said there was a WhatsApp group between other officers of the ship's crew not including Jelveh and others not on board the vessel — which was referred to as the "deck officers group".
Mr Guerin said there were two second officers on board the MV Matthew — Ukrainian Mykhailo Gavryk and one of the accused men on trial — Harold Estoesta.
He said Mr Estoesta was in communication with the "deck officers WhatsApp group" and a significant part of the case against him relates to the communications directly between him and persons not on the vessel in relation to "multiple aspects in arrangements of the transportation of the drugs and in particular for the concealment of those activities from others".
He said the third officer on the vessel was the second accused Saeid Hassani, who was also party to the "deck officers WhatsApp group". In his case, counsel said there would also be evidence of direct channels of communication to others off the vessel.
Mr Guerin said it was the State's case the communications made very clear what knowledge Mr Hassani had and the role he played in organising the logistics of the transfer of the drugs from the MV Matthew to the other vessel.
The lawyer said there were 15 other persons on board the vessel who had not been charged with offences and not everyone on board was aware of or party to the possession and transportation of the drugs. He said significant care was taken in restricting access to wifi, limiting and controlling access to the channels of the communications and distracting the crew at various times, when the controlled drugs were taken on board.
He said the two men had played an important role individually and collectively in trying to bring to fruition the transport and delivery of the cocaine. "They knew they were members of the inner circle of the crew that participated in the activity and both played a role in controlling the information available to others and did so willingly," he added.
He said the fishing vessel 'The Castlemore' was purchased for more than €300,000 by people not before the court and was intended to 'rendezvous' with the MV Matthew.
He said the non-jury court would be hearing evidence of a Garda surveillance operation, which would make clear the purchase was intended for the sole purpose of receiving the drugs being transported by the MV Matthew.
The court heard further evidence will be that 'The Castlemore' grounded on a sandbank off Curracloe on September 24 and "a distress call" was issued, resulting in the rescue of two men off the vessel.
He said when it became clear "a rendezvous" between 'The Castlemore" and the MV Matthew would not be possible, those on board the cargo ship and those giving directions had attempted to put in place an alternative arrangement for the delivery of the drugs.
Counsel said there were encrypted communications using the Signal messaging app between a person on board 'The Castlemore' and other persons off the vessel that clearly reveal the drugs were to remain on the MV Matthew "for the purpose of transfer".
The barrister further stated one of the key features of the operation was "to conceal for obvious reasons" the true purpose of the journey and to achieve this, the location of the vessel was concealed at key periods of time.
He said this was done by uploading a simulated journey onto the vessel's systems and it was the State's case that Mr Estoesta had played a crucial role in that "act of dissimulation".
Mr Guerin told the three judges that "the real control" of the vessel was being exercised by persons not on board the MV Matthew "by means of telephone channels available", but with the cooperation and assistance of officers on board, including the two accused.
Furthermore, the barrister said the MV Matthew had effectively stopped its journey on September 26 and radioed to the coast guard it was not capable of making its way without power and was anchored off the south coast of Wexford.
He added: "The prosecution case is the anchoring of the vessel and being without power was all an elaborate ruse designed to create the opportunity for those in control of the operation to make alternative arrangements for the delivery of the controlled drugs from the MV Matthew to another vessel in the absence of The Castlemore".
"It gave it an excuse apparently to spend time in the vicinity on the coast of Wexford or Waterford without attracting suspicion," he said.
The court will hear evidence, the lawyer said, that custom officers had directed the vessel to proceed to Cork Harbour. He said the prosecution case is that an agreement to do so was in itself "an act of deception" used to allow the ship to escape and evade customs. He said the two accused were knowingly parties to this deception.
Furthermore, the barrister said custom officers on board the LE William Butler Yeats and the navy itself had made repeated efforts to secure compliance, but these efforts were not successful.
He said the MV Matthew proceeded to exit a contiguous zone onto the high seas followed in hot pursuit by the LE William Butler Yeats. He said the pursuit concluded at 1pm on September 26 when members of the Army Rangers were inserted by Air Corps and took control of the crew.
He said there will be evidence the controlled drugs — 2,253kg of cocaine — had been set on fire in a deliberate exercise. He said both accused had knowingly participated in an attempt to conceal the drugs once it became apparent that the law enforcement operation was taking place.
In summary, Mr Guerin said the prosecution case against the two men was that they were directly involved in the physical possession of the drugs by the role they had played as officers of the MV Matthew. He said the men had given direction to others in the preparation for the physical transfer of the drugs from the MV Matthew onto 'The Castlemore'.
Counsel said Mr Hassani was not someone merely following orders but a knowing and willing participant in the operation. He said the defendant was involved in planning and directing the way "the cargo" was to be stowed and had been in direct contact with "the controlling minds of the operation".
Mr Estoesta, the prosecutor said, was involved in deception to conceal the criminality under way and was not only a voluntary participant in the activity itself but also its planning.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally presiding, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone, adjourned the trial until Wednesday, when Mr Guerin will continue giving his opening address.
Four co-accused — Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, 32, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, 32, Iranian Soheil Jelveh, 51, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49 — last week pleaded guilty to similar offences connected to the seizure.
The 2.25 tonnes of cocaine that was seized from the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, has an estimated value of more than €157m. The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023.
Mr Hassani and Mr Estoesta were arraigned before the Special Criminal Court on Monday, where they are charged that on September 24, 2023, on board the vessel MV Matthew within the territorial sea of the State, they had in their possession controlled drugs, namely cocaine, for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying the drug to another in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, 2017 to 2023, made under section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977 and at the time while the drug was in their possession the market value of the controlled drug amounted to €13,000 or more.
They are also charged with the possession of cocaine for sale or supply to a value of €13,000 or more between September 24 and 26, 2023, both dates inclusive, at locations outside the State, on board the vessel MV Matthew, a ship registered in Panama, a Convention state.
Each man also faces a third charge that on September 24, 2023, within the State, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, he participated in or contributed to activity intending to, or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could, facilitate the commission of a serious offence by that criminal organisation or any of its members.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to the three charges.
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