Drug smuggling - West Cork haul is tip of the iceberg

THOUGH yesterday’s dramatic events in west Cork could not have been unexpected, they were alarming and fortunate in equal measure.

That rugged, beautiful and relatively unpoliced coastline has afforded smugglers a red-carpet welcome for centuries.

It would be naive to imagine that the remoteness that attracted Admiral Hoche and Wolfe Tone in their failed attempt to land a French army in Bantry Bay in 1796 wouldn’t appeal to today’s drug smugglers.