MV Matthew crew hired by crime group in Dubai, court told
Six men who crewed a Panamanian cargo ship with the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history were hired in Dubai by a transnational organised crime group before flying to South America for the international drug trafficking operation.
In total, eight men have admitted their roles in trying to smuggle 2.2 tonnes of cocaine worth over €157m before it was seized following a joint garda, customs and Defence Forces operation in September 2023.
The six arrested on board the MV Mathew ignored instructions from the LE William Butler Yeats naval vessel five times and tried to burn the drugs on board before a team of Army Rangers abseiled aboard in treacherous conditions and secured the ship.
Two other men bought a boat in Castletownbere to collect the drugs from the mothership, but it ran aground off the coast of Wexford and they had to be rescued by the coastguard.
Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk and Vitaliy Vlasoi, who are both 32, 51-year-old Soheil Jelveh and 39-year-old Saeid Hassani, 31-year-old Harold Estoesta and 49-year-old Cumali Ozgen, who is from the Netherlands, all pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Mathew between 24 and 26 September 2023.
Vitaliy Lapa, 62, who is also from Ukraine with an address at Rudenko, Repina Str in Berdyansk and 31-year-old Jamie Harbron of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023.
The drugs gang communicated on WhatsApp groups and were directed by a transnational organised crime group based in Dubai, which Detective Superintendent Keith Halley told the court today had "immense capabilities, unlimited resources and a global reach".
"It operated a cell structure so if one cell was compromised, the damage to the organisation was limited," he said.
The court heard the MV Mathew was given clear instructions to evade law enforcement right up to the time the helicopter with the Army Rangers arrived.
The messages included reassurances such as "just relax and this will all be over soon", "I spoke with Happy, don't worry everything seems to be nice" and "once you're out and away mate".
They were also told erroneously that the Irish authorities could not board the vessel in international waters and tried to evade capture by heading for Sierra Leone.
Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, who was known as "Jimmy", was the cartel's man on the ship, "the eyes and ears of the criminal organisation on board".
He was in phone contact with someone in Dubai every three days and accommodated in the prestigious "pilot's cabin" in spite of the fact that he had no sea experience.
He had no other function on board but to correspond with someone outside and was in line for a €50,000 bonus upon completion of the operation.
There were others on board who were part of the crew but had no part of the drugs smuggling operation.
Ozgen helped load the drugs onto the ship, move them while on board and provided the paint thinner to burn them.
Captain of the ship Soheil Jelveh, who was a qualified maritime engineer, admitted that he was aware the consignment on the ship was not "spare parts" but said he took instructions and did what he was told.
However, he said he was in fear and that they could kill him or his family in Dubai at any time.
He also said the "Jimmy, the Dutch guy" had been put on board to kill him so he stayed in his room.
He became ill and was winched off the ship by the Irish coastguard before it was boarded and seized and was found with two suitcases, four phones including a satellite and encrypted phone and $57,000 in cash.
Gardaí accepted that he had contrived the illness to get off the ship and took the money as payment for his work. He has no previous convictions.
Mykhailo Gavryk was the second officer on board and had been a seaman all his life.
He admitted he moved drugs on board the ship and although he gave his phone and his PIN to gardaí, the contents had largely been deleted.
He said he followed instructions from others and gardaí accepted he knew the least about the drugs smuggling operation.
The sentencing hearing continues tomorrow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Almost four out of 10 Irish earners are paying no income tax, says Revenue
While the number of taxpayer units earning enough to be liable for the standard rate will be just over 2.2 million, an estimated 1.06 million of these, or 30pc, will not pay anything because their liability is fully covered by their tax credits. Another 256,600 taxpayer units, or 7pc of the total, are exempt from income tax. The statistics, contained in an answer by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to a Dáil question, means 37pc of earners will pay no income tax this year. In an annual report on the Irish economy, published yesterday, the European Commission emphasised the need to reduce the risks created by the high concentration of tax revenue among a relatively small number of payers. Ireland should broaden its tax base, given the reliance on relatively few foreign-owned multinationals, and there is particular scope for expanding the local property charge, the commission says. 'Ireland's labour-tax system is highly progressive, but it relies on a narrow tax base,' according to the report, which says the top 10pc of taxpayers accounted for approximately 60pc of the tax yield in 2022. This concentration of revenue means the tax base is vulnerable to economic shifts. Ireland's labour-tax revenues are well below the EU average, and 'to cope with high projected budget expenses, diversification in Ireland's public revenue structure is warranted', the report says. Ireland's share of labour taxes as a proportion of GDP is not even half the EU average, and remains below the EU average when adjusted to GNI*, a measure of economic activity that takes out the distorting effect of multinationals. There is also scope to expand the local property charge, since the revenue collected – which was 1.8pc of GNI* in 2022 – is also below the EU average, which was 2.1pc that year. On the spending side, the European Commission calls on Ireland to 'reinforce' defence spending in line with decisions reached by the European Council in March. The report points out that spending on defence in Ireland remained stable at 0.2pc of GDP between 2021 and 2023. According to its forecast, it will remain at this level for both last year and this year. This means there has been no change in four years. As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals The commission says there are still concerns about the impact that spending by the healthcare system is having on fiscal sustainability. The ageing of the population is going to mean an increase in health spending of 1.5pc of GDP by 2070, while across the EU the average increase is projected to be 0.4pc. 'As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals,' the report says. Given the heightened political uncertainty, Ireland's dependence on foreign multinationals needs to be looked at, and the European Commission warns there is an 'urgent need' to build a more resilient, innovation-driven domestic economy. It points out that spending on research and development (R&D) in Ireland is at one of the lowest rates in the EU, accounting for just 0.4pc of GNI*. This has led to a noticeable technology innovation gap between Irish SMEs and their counterparts in comparable European countries. 'Boosting R&D expenditure and providing targeted Research and Innovation (R&I) support could help boost SME productivity,' it says.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Almost 40pc of Irish earners are paying no income tax, says Revenue
While the number of taxpayer units earning enough to be liable for the standard rate will be just over 2.2 million, an estimated 1.06 million of these, or 30pc, will not pay anything because their liability is fully covered by their tax credits. Another 256,600 taxpayer units, or 7pc of the total, are exempt from income tax. The statistics, contained in an answer by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to a Dáil question, means 37pc of earners will pay no income tax this year. In an annual report on the Irish economy, published yesterday, the European Commission emphasised the need to reduce the risks created by the high concentration of tax revenue among a relatively small number of payers. Ireland should broaden its tax base, given the reliance on relatively few foreign-owned multinationals, and there is particular scope for expanding the local property charge, the commission says. 'Ireland's labour-tax system is highly progressive, but it relies on a narrow tax base,' according to the report, which says the top 10pc of taxpayers accounted for approximately 60pc of the tax yield in 2022. This concentration of revenue means the tax base is vulnerable to economic shifts. Ireland's labour-tax revenues are well below the EU average, and 'to cope with high projected budget expenses, diversification in Ireland's public revenue structure is warranted', the report says. Ireland's share of labour taxes as a proportion of GDP is not even half the EU average, and remains below the EU average when adjusted to GNI*, a measure of economic activity that takes out the distorting effect of multinationals. There is also scope to expand the local property charge, since the revenue collected – which was 1.8pc of GNI* in 2022 – is also below the EU average, which was 2.1pc that year. On the spending side, the European Commission calls on Ireland to 'reinforce' defence spending in line with decisions reached by the European Council in March. The report points out that spending on defence in Ireland remained stable at 0.2pc of GDP between 2021 and 2023. According to its forecast, it will remain at this level for both last year and this year. This means there has been no change in four years. ADVERTISEMENT As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals The commission says there are still concerns about the impact that spending by the healthcare system is having on fiscal sustainability. The ageing of the population is going to mean an increase in health spending of 1.5pc of GDP by 2070, while across the EU the average increase is projected to be 0.4pc. 'As the healthcare system is overly reliant on costly hospital care, exacerbated by the lack of universal primary care coverage, there is scope for reform to alleviate the strain on hospitals,' the report says. Given the heightened political uncertainty, Ireland's dependence on foreign multinationals needs to be looked at, and the European Commission warns there is an 'urgent need' to build a more resilient, innovation-driven domestic economy. It points out that spending on research and development (R&D) in Ireland is at one of the lowest rates in the EU, accounting for just 0.4pc of GNI*. This has led to a noticeable technology innovation gap between Irish SMEs and their counterparts in comparable European countries. 'Boosting R&D expenditure and providing targeted Research and Innovation (R&I) support could help boost SME productivity,' it says.
Agriland
2 hours ago
- Agriland
No rise in number of farmers rearing calves this year
There has been no increase in the number of farmers buying calves to rear this year – or the number of calves being reared by each farmer – according to official Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) data. As of May 28, 2025, DAFM data shows that 25,328 farmers bought calves so far this year. In the same time period last year, 25,349 herds notified DAFM of inward calf movements. The average number of calves moved into a herd in both periods was 19. The table below details the number of herds that notified DAFM of inward calf movements from January to May of 2024 and 2025, and the average number of calves moved into a herd in both periods: Year (Jan-May) Number of herds that notified DAFM of inward calf movements Average number of calves moved into a herd 2024 25,349 19 2025 25,328 19 Difference -21 – Responding to a query from Agriland relating to the number of farmers rearing calves this year compared to last year, a spokesperson for DAFM said: 'To date in 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been notified that 25,328 herds moved calves into their herd. 'In the same period last year, 25,349 herds notified DAFM of inward calf movements. 'The average number of calves moved into a herd in both periods was 19. This data was extracted from the Department's Animal Identification and Movement system on May 28, 2025.' DAFM has defined a calf as 0-6 months-of-age for the purpose of this query. The significant rise in calf prices this year was originally being attributed by mart managers and industry personnel to both strong export buyer activity and an increase in the number of farmers buying calves. The understanding was that the strong store cattle prices was causing more farmers to go to the calf ring to buy calves however the DAFM data shows there has been no rise in the number of Irish farmers rearing calves this year. While the number of calves being bought by Irish farmers for rearing has not increased, there has been a rise in calf export numbers, with just under 188,000 calves exported as of May 29 this year. Calf exports are up 13% on last year.
