Irish Army Rangers 'risked their lives' to board cargo vessel transporting cocaine haul

Irish Army Rangers risked their lives when they boarded the MV Matthew in treacherous weather while the crew of the drug-laden vessel manoeuvred to evade capture and get to the high seas, the Special Criminal Court has heard. 

Detective Supt Keith Halley told a sentencing hearing that it took "great bravery" to board the vessel but despite the danger, the army rangers reacted quickly to prevent the 2.25 tonnes of cocaine on board from being destroyed by fire.

The three-judge court also heard that an organised crime group in Dubai instructed the crew of the MV Matthew as it attempted to evade law enforcement and deliver the drugs to an Irish vessel.

Despite repeated warnings from the Irish Navy, including warning shots fired from the LE William Butler Yeats, the person overseeing the operation told the crew to keep going and head for a safe port in Sierra Leone.

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The original plan was that the MV Matthew would deliver the drugs to a second ship, The Castlemore, but rough seas and technical difficulties caused the Irish vessel to miss the connection and later run aground.

When the Coastguard attempted to tow the Castlemore, the two men on board were unable to tie the tow rope. Det Supt Halley said their energy levels were poor, having suffered "severe weather and sea conditions". 

The coastguard finally used a winch to lift them to the LE William Butler Yeats. 

A criminal who moved to Dubai shortly after the ship was intercepted remains under investigation for his role in the operation, Det Supt Halley said. The investigation is "very much ongoing" into the structure of the organised crime group and the cells it uses to carry out its operations, he said.

There were several indications of the size of the group and the extent of its ability to organise transnational drug operations, he said. 

Eight people were before the court on Teesday for a sentencing hearing, having previously pleaded guilty to offences arising out of the seizure of an estimated €157 million worth of cocaine on board the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier.

The ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023.

Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk (32) and Vitaliy Vlasoi (33); Iranians Soheil Jelveh (52) and Saeid Hassani (39); Filipino Harold Estoesta (31) and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen (50) pleaded guilty that between September 24 and 26 2023, both dates inclusive, at locations outside the State, on board the vessel "MV Matthew" they possessed cocaine for sale or supply contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations.

Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, pleaded guilty that on dates between September 21 and 25, 2023, at a location within the State, he attempted to possess cocaine for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying to another, in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2023, made under section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and at the time when the controlled drug was in his possession, the market value was €13,000 or more.

Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21 and September 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

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The court previously heard that while the MV Matthew was sailing under the flag of Panama, it was owned by a Dubai-based company known as 'Symphony Marine'. It departed from Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast and sailed across the Atlantic before arriving in Irish territorial waters.

Det Supt Halley told prosecution counsel John Berry SC that he was working with the Drug and Organised Crime Bureau in 2023 and was part of a multinational effort to disrupt drug trafficking networks using intelligence reports from agencies around the world.

Through those efforts, the MV Matthew was identified as potentially being used to transport drugs across the Atlantic.

The vessel used a technique called "spoofing" to misrepresent its real location as it travelled from Venezuela and picked up the drugs at sea, using a crane to lift the heavy bales from one vessel to the other.

Some months earlier, the detective said Vitaliy Lapa arrived in Ireland where he purchased the Castlemore and met up with Harbron.

Phones that gardai seized following the operation revealed the extent of communications and coordination between those organising the shipment with those on board the MV Matthew and Lapa. On September 25, Lapa was instructed to pull close to the MV Matthew for the drug transfer and: "There will be four jumbo bags. It be a lot but just go like fuck mate. Tuck away. Proportion it on each side so balanced."

A person in Dubai, named as Captain Noah, coordinated the operation, Det Halley said.

After the Castlemore failed to meet up at an intended rendezvous, and the weather deteriorated, the captain of the MV Matthew, Jelveh, used a chat group with the Dubai organisers to express his frustration, the detective said. 

Jelveh said he had wanted to do the exchange in the Mediterranean but "you drag me all the way here" to the Irish Sea where there is "low pressure all the time". By then, the ship had already drawn the attention of the Irish Coastguard and Jelveh told Captain Noah: "I'd rather go to prison, but I won't stay in the storm." 

By September 24 the Castlemore had run aground and the plan changed. They were now to place the drugs on a lifeboat and release it into the Irish Sea where it would be met by another boat.  Det Halley said this was an example of the reach of the organised crime group that the grounding of the Castlemore did not deter their efforts. They were, he said, able to find another vessel to continue the operation.

Meanwhile, Jelveh, having complained about the grounding of The Castlemore, contacted the Coast Guard looking for medical assistance and was airlifted, without incident, from the MV Matthew on the evening of September 24. Unusually for someone seeking medical assistance, he had two suitcases with him, Det Halley said.

One contained more than $52,000 along with four phones and a satellite phone. Gardai examined those devices and discovered much of the incriminating evidence against the accused.

From their examination of the phones, Det Halley said it became clear that there were drugs on board the MV Matthew and the LE William Butler Yeats was deployed to instruct the ship to make its way to Cork.

When, on the early afternoon of September 26, the MV Matthew appeared to be heading instead for the open sea, a Navy Commander took over the operation and issued several warnings. The navy vessel fired warning shots when the ship failed to comply.

Messages later found on phones being used by those on board, showed they were initially determined not to lose the drugs, but later discussed setting the cocaine on fire in a lifeboat. Captain Noah told them he didn't want "a single dollar profit" and didn't want any of the crew to go to jail. He told them to "make ready the fire" and travel at full speed for Sierra Leone.

Captain Noah further told them to "be confident" and said there was a law preventing the Irish authorities from boarding the ship.

At the same time, Harold Estoesta messaged the Navy saying that they wanted to cooperate, but they were panicking and scared. "We will go away because you are firing at us," he said.

To his crew, Estoesta demanded they "prepare for fire" using gasoline, diesel or paint thinners. Det Halley said this was a clear instruction to destroy all the drugs by setting them on fire.

When the army helicopter appeared, the MV Matthew began to manoeuvre to prevent the rangers from boarding. The movements of the ship made it almost impossible for the helicopter to position itself to allow for a safe boarding, Det Halley said, adding: "It took great bravery to make such a landing with the manoeuvring of the MV Matthew. They were put in danger by those movements."

Despite what they faced, the army rangers boarded safely, saw the fire and put it out, Det Halley said. One of the rangers, a former member of the Navy, steered the vessel to Cork Harbour. Of the five cargo holds on the "enormous structure", Det Halley said all were empty except one, which had boxes that had initially been used to store the drugs.

The sentencing hearing continues this Wednesday before Ms Justice Melanie Greally, Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone.