Three of four men accused in alleged €31m West Cork drug-smuggling case to plead guilty

The €31m worth of cocaine seized in Courtmacsherry in July.

Three of the four accused men charged in connection with the alleged smuggling of €31m worth of cocaine at Courtmacsherry, West Cork, in July will enter guilty pleas, the district court has heard.

The four 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 at Clonakilty District Court by video link from prison.

The four were initially charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, with possession of cocaine under Section 3 and possession of cocaine for sale or supply under Section 15. 

Further charges were brought against all four at Bandon District Court on Monday of possession of more than €13,000 worth of cocaine for the purpose of sale or supply and importation of cocaine. 

In addition, Sandford and Hibbett were charged with the possession of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) to commit a criminal offence, and Doherty and Gulay were charged with the possession of Motorola and Google phones to commit an offence.

Solicitor for Doherty, Plunkett Taaffe, told the court it was his client’s intention to enter a signed guilty plea. Mr Taaffe, acting as agent for Frank Buttimer, said it was also the intention of Sandford to enter a signed guilty plea to the charges. 

Solicitor Myra Dinneen, acting as agent for Eddie Burke, said Hibbett has also indicated his intention to enter a signed plea to the charges. Ms Dinneen said her client Gulay would reserve his position.

Judge King remanded Gulay in custody to appear in person at Bandon District Court on December 12 to indicate his attitude to a guilty plea or for service of a book of evidence. 

Judge King remanded Doherty, Sandford and Hibbett in custody to appear at Bandon District Court on December 12 to enter signed pleas and be sent forward to Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Doherty and Gulay were arrested on Tuesday, 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 the Revenue Customs Service.

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

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme