Men behind largest seizure of cocaine in Irish history to be sentenced in June

The MV Matthew was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023. File picture: Larry Cummins

Eight men who were part of an international drug trafficking operation that resulted in the largest seizure of cocaine in Irish history will be sentenced in June.

The men were all charged with offences arising from the seizure of 2.25 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated value of more than €157m, which was on board the ship the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier.

The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023.

Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 32, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, 51, and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, pleaded guilty that 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, that 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.

Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, pleaded guilty that on dates between September 21 and 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, at a location within the State, he attempted to possess cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying 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 when the controlled drug was in his possession, the market value was €13,000 or more.

Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21 and September 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The men are due to be sentenced before the Special Criminal Court on June 3 and 4 next.

The court previously heard that while the MV Matthew was sailing under the flag of Panama, it was owned by a Dubai-based company known as 'Symphony Marine'. It departed from Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast and sailed across the Atlantic before arriving in Irish territorial waters.

Evidence was heard that there was a group effort to disguise the vessel's true position on its journey by using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to simulate a false position. It was then intended for the vessel to meet with a fishing boat named The Castlemore for the physical transfer of the drugs from the MV Matthew.