Half-tonne cocaine haul worth €31m seized in major joint operation off West Cork coast
A major search operation for a suspect boat, which was used to land the drugs at Broad Strand near Courtmacsherry, is ongoing. Picture: Martin Walsh.
Four men have been arrested and about half a tonne of cocaine — potentially worth up to €31m — has been seized in West Cork after authorities intercepted a British-German drug trafficking network.
The consignment — the largest since 2.25 tonnes of cocaine were seized on the MV Matthew off the Cork/Waterford coast in September 2023 — was recovered following a sophisticated surveillance operation by Irish security and law enforcement agencies.
A major search is underway for a suspect boat used to land the drugs at Broad Strand near Courtmacsherry.
High tide occurred at 3am on Tuesday, and it’s understood the cocaine was brought ashore directly onto the beach and loaded into a van just before 4am.
Two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested after gardaí from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau stopped a van leaving the Broad Strand area.
Separately, a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) that had departed from Broadstrand, near Courtmacsherry, was tracked by the Air Corps and intercepted at sea by two Naval Service RIBs launched from the LÉ William Butler Yeats, which was on patrol in the area.
The boat was detained by Revenue and two further men, also aged in their 30s and 40s, were taken on board the naval vessel. They were subsequently arrested and are also being detained under the same legislation.
Armed naval boarding teams, carrying Heckler & Koch 9mm sidearms, with the naval ship providing cover, a source has said. No shots were fired.
The LÉ William Butler Yeats returned to Haulbowline Naval Base following the operation.
The arrested men are believed to be European.
The officers were involved in an intelligence-led, joint task force interdiction operation that had been active in the area for at least 24 hours. They were monitoring the movements of several individuals and vehicles.
Forensic Science Ireland will now carry out a detailed analysis of the seized drugs. Investigations are ongoing.
Locals reported seeing lights in the bay late on Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday morning, from what they believe was a yacht anchored for some time. However, they are unsure if it was linked to the smuggling operation.
One local said there was nothing unusual in the area on Monday night to suggest an international organised crime gang was preparing to smuggle half a tonne of cocaine ashore or that a major undercover garda operation was in progress.
The operation is supported by Revenue’s Customs Service, the Irish Naval Service, local gardaí, and the Irish Air Corps, which used an aircraft to monitor the entire operation.
The understands the importation was organised by a British-German drug trafficking gang.
At present, no Irish criminals are believed to be involved, though investigations remain at an early stage.
Typically, such consignments are driven north and ferried to Scotland for distribution across Britain and beyond.
Gardaí are investigating whether this load was following that route and believe it was destined for the UK market.
The Navy had been monitoring the ‘mother ship’ carrying suspected drugs, a source told the .
After it “dropped its load,” the Navy pursued the collecting ‘daughter ship’.
The bay where the suspected drop-off took place is exposed and open, a source said.
It can be viewed and monitored from three directions, making it an insecure location for a clandestine smuggling operation, they added.
The LÉ William Butler Yeats had been stationed nearby, conducting surveillance of the suspected drug smuggling operation.
The elite Army Ranger Wing was initially called in to assist, but was unavailable in the required timeframe, so armed naval officers pursued the suspect 'daughter ship' in two RIBs instead, the source said.
The mother ship is believed to be a large, sea-going merchant vessel capable of crossing the Atlantic. It is understood to be smaller than the MV Matthew.
It most likely travelled from Latin America to Ireland, sources say.
“They’d stay outside the harbour, drop it and go,” a source said of the mother ship’s operating model.
Broad Strand is an 880m stretch of east-facing beach just south of Courtmacsherry, between the Old Head of Kinsale and the Seven Heads peninsula. There is no slipway, and the beach can only be accessed from the sea by a small vessel such as a RIB.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who has a holiday home in the area, joins hundreds of locals every New Year’s Day for a fundraising swim on the beach.
It has become increasingly popular since covid, with people swimming there from 6am most mornings.
West Cork Fine Gael Senator and former garda Noel O’Donovan said: “In West Cork, we are well aware how narcotics can be smuggled into this country and the European continent.
‘This capture highlights again the increased need for further Garda resources in West Cork - more Gardai patrolling our rural areas prevents and deters criminal activity."
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said: "I have been briefed by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces on today’s significant joint-agency operation in Cork.
"I want to commend members of An Garda Síochána, Defence Forces, Naval Service and Revenue for their close collaboration in securing such a successful outcome."
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