Directions expected within two weeks in alleged €31m West Cork drug smuggling case

All four accused were remanded in custody to appear again by video link on October 21

(Left to right) Christopher Hibbett, Mark Doherty, Ben Sandford, and Levant Gulay are all charged in connection with the seizure of an estimated €31m of cocaine in West Cork. Pictures: Dan Linehan

Directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the prosecution of four men for the alleged smuggling of €31m worth of cocaine are expected within the next two weeks, the district court has heard.

Detective Garda Gavin Curran told Clonakilty District Court that he was optimistic oral or written directions would be received within two weeks regarding the prosecutions that relate to the seizure of 440kg of cocaine in an operation in Courtmacsherry, West Cork, in July.

Sergeant Tom Mulcahy said it was the State’s application to remand all four accused in custody to October 21, 2025, when it was expected directions on how the prosecutions would proceed will have been received.

The four accused men, Mark Doherty, aged 40, of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland; Levent Gulay, aged 31, of Schwabenstraße, Neu Ulm, Bavaria, Germany; Christopher Hibbett, aged 44, of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, Cornwall, England, and Ben Sandford, aged 39, of Woodgreen, Drumm Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland all appeared before Judge John King by video link from Cork Prison.

The four accused each face two charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, possession of cocaine under Section 3 and possession of cocaine for sale or supply under Section 15.

Mark Doherty and Levent Gulay were arrested on July 1 when gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau stopped a van in the Courtmacsherry area and cocaine valued in excess of €31m was seized by Revenue Customs Service.

Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett were arrested on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that departed Courtmacsherry on July 1 and was intercepted by two Naval Service RIBs dispatched from the L.É. William Butler Yeats off the coast of Waterford.

Solicitor for Ben Sandford, Plunkett Taaffe, told the court that his client was indicating the intention to enter a signed guilty plea in relation to the charges.

Judge King remanded all four in custody to appear again by video link on October 21.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.