'I'm not taking the blame for any of this': Court hears of 'narco boat' in failed smuggling operation

Irish Examiner

6 days ago

A "narco boat" swayed on a winch as the Atlantic swell rolled in on Tragumna pier, Cork, as men struggled to load it into an articulated lorry after many of them had already endured almost 48 hours on rough, dangerous seas.
The speedboat, with three powerful engines and modified to evade detection, had allegedly failed to catch up with the alleged mothership, a legitimate Panamanian flagged cargo vessel called the Cool Explorer off Britain's south-west coast to collect some €59m worth of cocaine.
It returned to Tragumna in the early morning of March 14, 2024, after just under 48 hours at sea during a weather warning, having covered 985km.
Frustrated shouts could be heard in shaky video footage captured by one of the accused on a phone and shown to the Special Criminal Court on Tuesday.
"This is some mission here mate", an Irish voice could be heard saying in one video as they struggled to load the rigid inflatable boat (RIB) onto the articulated truck trailer.
'I don't give a fuck, I'm not taking the blame for any of this,' the Irish voice said in one video.
A suspected major drug smuggling operation, involving some 850kg cocaine worth an estimated €59m which gardaí believe ultimately washed up on beaches in Denmark, had failed that night.
Charting waypoints
Devices subsequently seized by gardaí from 10 men arrested in West Cork, including phones with the highly encrypted Graphene operating system, contained images that showed waypoints in Denmark near where the cocaine washed ashore. Waypoints charted on the Active Captain app showed locations plotted out in the Irish Sea and the English Channel just south of Land's End.
A screenshot found on a seized phone seems to show the location of the Cool Explorer, taken from a marine traffic app which helps monitor the position of cargo vessels.
It was to pass by Land's End in the south of Britain around March 12, 2024. On March 14 and 15, the Cool Explorer passed an area of Denmark called Sjællands Odde.
Some 850kg of cocaine was discovered subsequently washed up on beaches in the area. GPS units attached to the bags matched the co-ordinates used by the Cool Explorer, the court heard.
Gardaí believe that the rigid inflatable boat left Tragumna on March 12, 2024, in a failed bid to meet the Cool Explorer — a legitimate cargo vessel — to pick up some 850kg of cocaine while at sea.
Seven of the 10 men arrested in connection with the alleged operation have now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs.
They are Dutch national Kiumaars Ghabiri, aged 52; Serbian national Aleksander Milic, aged 46; and Spanish nationals Mario Angel Del Rio Sanz, aged 45; Juan Antonio Gallardo Barroso, aged 56; Pedro Pablo Ojeda Ortega, aged 36; Angel Serran Padilla, aged 40; and Anuar Rahui Chairi, aged 42.
'Co-operative of groups'
The accused operated in a cell structure, Inspector Joseph Young told the Special Criminal Court.
A Dutch Iranian cell, an Irish cell, and a Spanish cell were involved in the operation, the court heard.
The Dutch Iranian cell served a logistical support role in the conspiracy enterprise, Insp Young said.
And gardaí believe that 'a co-operative of groups' had proprietary rights over the illicit cargo, believed to be some €58m of cocaine that subsequently washed up on the Danish coast.
Milic, from Belgrade, was a 'notary' or representative for the Irish cell on the rigid inflatable boat, Insp Young said. Part of his role was to provide fuel to the boat, Insp Young said.
He was not in a managerial role, I think the purpose of a notary role for the group is to place a representative on the boat to oversee and see that things went to plan
Following his arrest on the morning of March 14, he had medical help for problems with his teeth he suffered on rough seas on the open-topped, low profile speed boat. He had no seat in the vessel, unlike the other Spanish crew, and had no helmet or gumshield to protect him.
He also had debts in Serbia, defence barrister Séamus Clarke said.
The Spanish cell had first travelled to Holland in February 2024. Barroso allegedly brought the rigid inflatable boat there and they all were in the area while the boat was modified in a warehouse.
The speedboat's modification would classify it as a 'narco boat'" Inspector Young said.
It was probably modified to conduct drug trafficking at sea, with blackened equipment and a low profile in the water, designed not to be detected, he said.
Selfies taken in Holland showed some of the men lounging on couches, smiling, and giving peace signs to the camera. Another photo showed all of them enjoying dinner and wine together around a table in a chalet in Holland.
Mr Sanz and Mr Chairi appeared in many photos together, retrieved from multiple devices, and they travelled together from Lisbon to Dublin.
One selfie showed them smiling as they set off, sitting next to each other in an airplane at the beginning of their ill-fated operation.
'Modest means'
Mr Barroso was involved in the procurement of the rigid inflatable boat and transported it to Holland, the State alleges. He knew Mr Ortega and Mr Padilla, the court heard.
Mr Barroso's wife died while he was in prison, leaving their 12-year-old daughter without her parents and being taken into the care of family, the court heard.
Mr Ortega, a mechanic, had previously worked for a company which was contracted to by police in Gibraltar to fix cars and boats. However, he had been unemployed for the 11 months prior to March, 2024, defence barrister Brendan Grehan said.
Mr Ortega, his long-term partner, and their daughter were a family of 'modest means', with Mr Ortega's social welfare payments of €1,500 a month due to run out. His partner earned €1,600-€1,700 a month cleaning hotels.
Mr Padilla, also a father, had struggled with cocaine addiction and had lapsed into abuse again before taking the Tragumna job, defence barrister Michael Bowman said.
He was hired for his experience at sea and had no proprietary interest in the cargo, Mr Bowman said.
He had previously been in the army, but left due to psychological issues. He had also worked in construction and with his father who was a butcher.
Mr Ghabiri, allegedly part of the Dutch-Iranian cell, provided logistical support in the enterprise, Insp Young said
Born in Tehran, his home was hit by a bomb from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. It killed his parents and his six siblings when he was nine-years-old, defence counsel Keith Spencer said. He was injured in the blast but survived, and was taken in by an uncle and other family members.
He later suffered persecution and escaped Iran to Rotterdam in Holland, where he subsisted in a refugee centre. He worked menial jobs, picking tomatoes and flowers and cleaning toilets in the underground.
He had very little education and his literacy was quite poor, Mr Spencer said. However, he was a skilled cook with a good work ethic and had subsequently worked in Spain as a chef.
His sister had contracted cancer and needed support which was a factor in pushing him to take this job, Mr Spencer said.
His guilty plea came very early and his involvement was not of someone at the upper echelons of this type of conspiracy, and he was not standing to profit a huge deal from it, Mr Spencer said.
Childhood trauma
Mr Sanz also suffered trauma in his childhood, defence barrister Elizabeth O'Connell said.
Although he grew up in a middle class family, his father was an architect and his mother also had a good professional position, his parents split up very acrimoniously when he was 10 years old.
He and his father moved to a small village outside Cádiz, and the relationship with his other parent 'ruptured' completely. He also lost all contact with his sister for 17 years.
This was a huge trauma to Mr Sanz, and he was 'effectively let run wild' by his father as his sole guardian.
Although he had a business bringing people out on boat trips to see dolphins, his early trauma and unstable childhood had 'disrupted' his life tragically.
His seafaring knowledge led to his being asked by a Portuguese operative to ensure that the boat was operational and got to the water when needed, the court heard.
He said he was to be paid €15,000 for the foiled Tragumna operation, but said he never received payment.
Mr Sanz was 'not a person of means', and he rented an apartment with his wife who works in an airport.
The Spanish were brought in as a "job lot", the defence barrister for Mr Chairi, Emmett Boyle, said.
His client was employed as a subcontractor to fulfil a specific service and was not at management level, Mr Boyle said.
Mr Chairi survived modestly in Malaga, and 'certainly does not live a lavish lifestyle,' Mr Boyle said.
Mitigation in the men's sentence hearings will continue in the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday.
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