Two plead guilty to having 2.2 tonnes of cocaine for supply on board MV Matthew

Both men were remanded in custody to February 24 when the court intends to fix a date for their sentencing hearing

The MV Matthew berthed at Marino Point in Cobh, Co Cork. It was carrying 2.2 tonnes of the drug, worth an estimated €157 million, when it was boarded and taken over by members of the Irish Army Rangers. File picture: Larry Cummins

Two men have pleaded guilty one week into their Special Criminal Court trial, which heard they were part of an international drug trafficking operation that resulted in the largest seizure of cocaine in Irish history.

Iranian Saeid Hassani, aged 39 and Filipino Harold Estoesta, aged 31, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Matthew, a Panamanian registered ship that was carrying 2.2 tonnes of the drug, worth an estimated €157 million, when it was boarded and taken over by members of the Irish Army Rangers.