7 hours ago
Irishman among three held after €110m drugs haul on yacht
An Irishman is among three people arrested after Portuguese police and military intercepted a yacht with more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine on board off the Azores.
Two Danish men were also arrested after 1,660 kilos of the class-A drug, with a potential street value of around €110m, were found on the 11-metre vessel.
All three were in Sao Miguel Prison in the capital, Ponta Delgada, after being remanded by a judge following their first court appearance on Friday. An Irishman is among three people arrested after Portuguese police and military intercepted a yacht with more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine on board off the Azores. Pic: Getty Images
Portuguese police also confirmed Spanish counterparts had held the suspected leader of the criminal gang in a 'parallel' operation believed to have taken place on the Costa del Sol. The operation that led to the high-seas cocaine bust was codenamed Operation Vikings.
A spokesman for Portugal's Policia Judiciaria described the three men in an official statement as 'foreigners' but a well-placed source yesterday confirmed they included an Irish national.
Portugal's police also said Irish authorities had assisted them. An Irishman is among three people arrested after Portuguese police and military intercepted a yacht with more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine on board off the Azores. Pic: Horacio Villalobos – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The police statement said: 'With the support of the Portuguese Navy, we launched an operation to combat international drug trafficking by sea.
'Operation Vikings is the result of a complex investigation over the last two years, aimed at dismantling an international criminal organisation.'
The statement added: 'Given the nationality of the suspects and the geographical dispersion of their activities, the assistance provided by foreign counterparts in the context of international police co-operation, in particular the Spanish National Police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Danish National Special Crimes Unit (NSK Danish Police) and the French and Irish authorities, was also relevant.'
