Crews 'expendable' in massive cocaine smuggling operation, court hears

A retired Ukrainian fisherman was told he would earn €5k but claimed he did not know it was a drug-trafficking plot for a major organised crime group

Irish Defence Forces personnel onboard the MV Matthew after it was seized off the south coast of Ireland and escorted into Cork Harbour after suspected drugs were found onboard in what later transpired to be the largest seizure in the history of the State. File picture: PA

A Ukrainian man who spoke no English had serious concerns about the seaworthiness of a boat being used in a €157m cocaine smuggling operation.

Gardaí had been watching Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, and Jamie Harbron, aged 31, since they entered Ireland to embark on a drug-trafficking plot for a major organised crime group.