The ‘Cobh Agreement’ which has lead to worldwide seizure of €80bn worth of cocaine

A brainstorming session by representatives from seven nations 7 years ago was key to Wednesday’s €80m cocaine bust, writes Sean O’Riordan

The irony is unlikely to be lost on the three men captured on a yacht laden down with more than a tonne of cocaine.

Just a few hundred yards from the Naval Service headquarters in Haulbowline, where they were formally arrested by gardaí on Wednesday night, is the aptly-named Commodore Hotel in Cobh. It was there in 2007 that representatives from seven nations met and agreed to set up the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC). This drugs-busting organisation led to their downfall, and to date, its intelligence-sharing operations have resulted in the seizure of more €80bn of cocaine from drugs ships.