MV Matthew crew 'terrified' amid chaos of cocaine trafficking operation, court hears

Special Criminal Court hears of activity on board the ship in the hours before Irish Army Rangers stormed it, bringing the criminal operation to a sudden and dramatic end

Military personnel securing the MV Matthew and escorting it into Cobh in Cork Harbour in 2023. File picture: Niall Carson/PA

Crates of cocaine, loaded under cover of night from an armed boat by some crew members while others aboard the MV Matthew were plied with alcohol “as a distraction” began a descent into chaos which would ultimately lead to their arrest.

“Terrified” and “alone at sea”, the crew said they were then compelled to comply with the major drug trafficking operation directed from Dubai that resulted in Ireland’s largest ever cocaine seizure off the Cork coast in September, 2023.

Fear permeated the bulk cargo ship, the accused said, with some crew saying they were promised bonuses to “keep their mouths shut” when they questioned the legality of the cargo.

They were told it was “spare parts” but many of the sailors admitted that they suspected it was illegal contraband — most likely drugs or weapons.

Eight men have pleaded guilty to their involvement in a drug smuggling plot in which 2.25 tonnes of cocaine — the largest seizure in the history of the State — was found on the Panamanian registered MV Matthew, a 190-metre-long, 32-metre-wide bulk cargo ship off the Cork coast.

All arrested aboard the MV Matthew said they flew to Dubai for interviews before flying on to South America to begin their job.

All bar one — Cumali Ozgen — had significant experience at sea and many had multiple maritime qualifications.

In mitigation, the men were described as people in difficult circumstances who provided diligently for their families, some of whom suffered ill health.

But they were “expendable” and the “bottom of the food chain” for the organised crime group running the drug trafficking operation, the Special Criminal Court heard in mitigation.

Those directing the operations from Dubai remained thousands of miles away from the ship and “kept their hands clean”.

Military personnel secured the MV Matthew and escorted it into Cork Harbour in September, 2023, after the suspected drugs were found on board in what turned out to be Ireland’s largest ever cocaine seizure. File picture: PA

Although Mr Ozgen may have been the “eyes and ears” of those directing the operation from Dubai, there was no suggestion he had an organising role, defence barrister Brendan Grehan SC said.

Mr Ozgen had accepted that he loaded three crates with drugs on the MV Matthew and was involved in moving the drugs by hand.

He also admitted playing a part in helping to burn the drugs, getting paint thinner to try to intensify the flames, after the ship was stormed by elite army rangers in September 2023, bringing the criminal operation to a sudden and dramatic end.

He admitted that he believed he would get a bonus of some 50,000 to 100,000 — euros or dollars.

He had a prestigious cabin on the boat, although initially claimed he was a “cleaner” which “didn’t make sense,” Mr Grehan said.

Unlike anyone else on the boat, he had no seafaring experience, although he was described as an ‘ordinary seaman’.

His role to some extent was tending to the cargo aboard — the drugs, Mr Grehan said.

He had no previous convictions and appears to have worked in a series of menial jobs in the past.

“I think it’s well established that we’re in a hierarchy for those involved in this kind of drug smuggling operation,” Mr Grehan said. He added: 

The owners or stakeholders keep their hands clean and very far away from any possible exposure.

And the people on board were being directed by a company in Dubai and people offboard throughout the operation, he said.

These voices from off the boat directed the crew not to comply with directions from the Irish naval ship, despite warning shots being fired.

They also directed them to burn the drugs and get rid of all phones, he said.

One “caring” message told the crew that the organisers were not interested in “one dollar out of this” and they did not want anyone going to jail, telling them to “head to Sierra Leone”.

“Perhaps it is not surprising that people felt obliged to comply with the wishes of people in that organisation,” he said, given the power of the organised crime gang that appeared to be involved.

“Mr Cumali Ozgen asked me to apologise to the people of the court and to the people of Ireland.

“He got involved in a misguided attempt to get money to assist his family, particularly his son [who suffered a brain tumour and required surgery].

He regrets every day how stupid he was to get involved in this matter. He wanted to make money but finds himself getting no money, no financial reward and facing a lengthy custodial sentence. 

Harold Estoesta was a recently qualified 2nd Officer.

He was assigned a communication role on the boat, perhaps because of his strong command of English, his barrister Michael Hourigan SC said.

He was not happy about this but had to take orders, he said.

He said he was told the boat had to take on a cargo of spare parts.

Fears about possible contraband 

He was directed to assist on the night the cargo was brought aboard, but some of the other crew were to be given as much alcohol as possible.

When he saw armed men on the boat unloading the cargo he became extremely concerned that they were loading contraband — drugs or weapons.

But he was then “terrified” and “alone at sea” so felt he must comply.

He was told that everyone would get bonuses, when he raised concerns that the cargo was not spare parts.

“Ships can be very dangerous places and countless sailors go missing every year,” his barrister, Mr Hourigan said.

“He made certain choices but I ask you to contextualise, fear was present on his part.

“Essentially, he was threatened on the boat,” he said.

Mr Estoesta was of good character with no previous convictions.

At 31, he was accomplished, having been a government scholar in the Philippines.

The captain, Iranians Soheil Jelveh, 51, was highly qualified and had no previous links to organsied crime, barrister Keivon Sotoodeh said.

His wife has cancer and his daughter, 22, is studying in Istanbul. His son is 20. He has been the family’s sole breadwinner, he said.

Two Ukrainians who had escaped to Romania after Russia invaded their country, were also arrested from the MV Matthew.

Vitaliy Vlasoi, who turned 33 on Tuesday, was brought up by his mother, a kindergarten teacher, and studied at the maritime college in Odessa before beginning his professional life as a sailor.

Seafaring was in his blood, the court heard, with multiple generations of his family working on boats.

He married in 2019 and has a five-year-old daughter.

His young family and his mother moved to Ireland since his arrest. His wife works 50 hours a week in a shop to support the family, travelling 1.5 hours by bus to get there.

Not being there for his family weighs heavily on his mind, the court heard. His mother cried in court as she watched her son in the accused’s box.

Mykhailo Gavryk, 32, also from Odessa who fled to Romania when Russia invaded Ukraine, had been of good character, described as proactive, hard-working, creative and a good leader in references supplied to the court by educational institutions.

He was the only man and the only breadwinner in his family, his barrister, Paul O’Higgins said.

He has donated money to the Ukrainian army and a letter of thanks for this was supplied to the court.

He handed over the pin to his phone to gardaí and used his own name on messaging apps on the boat.

His knowledge and responsibility for the operation was “at the bottom of the pile”, and the least of all those aboard the MV Matthew, Mr O'Higgins said.

The MV Matthew being escorted into Cork Harbour in September, 2023, after the suspected drugs were found on board in what turned out to be Ireland’s largest ever cocaine seizure. File picture: PA

Saied Hassani, 40, has a wife and six-year-old daughter in Iran, the Special Criminal Court heard.

He has worked at sea almost consistently since graduating from maritime college, which he started in 2005.

He has been away so much for work that he missed all of his daughter’s birthdays.

He has two sisters who need medical care — one is in a wheelchair and one has cancer — and he has worked to provide for his wider family since his father died.

“There is nothing in his records to suggest he has done anything like this before,” his barrister Mark Lynam SC said.

He even thanked the criminals in Dubai “for this opportunity” when he got the job, thinking it would help his family, Mr Lynam said.

He had the lowest responsibility for the operation of all the officers on board, Mr Lynam said.

Although he was found with €20,000 cash when the MV Matthew was seized, this was given to him by the captain before he was airlifted off the boat, he said.

He had succumbed to the temptation not out of greed or for better lifestyle — but to support family, some of whom are sick, Mr Lynam said.

Detective Sergeant Keith Halley, who led the historic drug bust, said that the operation was directed from Dubai but also had Iranian involvement.

A transnational organised crime group with "immense capabilities, unlimited resources and a global reach," directed the MV Matthew drug smuggling operation from a cell in Dubai before it was stormed off the Cork coast.

A cell structure within the organised crime group which manned the operation was evident, so if one cell was compromised, the overall damage would be limited, Det Supt Halley told the Special Criminal Court at the men's sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

The MV Matthew, owned by a Dubai-based company, repeatedly tried to evade the Irish navy before it was boarded by Ireland's elite army ranger wing via helicopter in rough seas in September 2023 off the Cork coast.

Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, both 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, 51, and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, all pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Mathew between 24 and 26 September 2023.

Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, and Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023.

Justice Melanie Grealy has set sentencing for all eight men on July 4.