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The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Crew hired for ship with largest cocaine seizure were under ‘financial pressure'
Eight men admitted their roles in trying to smuggle cocaine worth over 157 million euros (£132 million). The MV Matthew was found to be carrying 2.2 tonnes of cocaine (Niall Carson/PA) The ship was intercepted and seized following a massive joint Defence Forces, garda and customs operation. The Irish Army Ranger Wing has been praised in court for putting their lives at risk when they boarded the vessel in severe weather conditions while the crew attempted to steer the ship to high seas. Six of the men arrested on board the MV Matthew had ignored repeated warnings from the LE William Butler Yeats naval vessel. Two other men were rescued from a boat that was bought in Castletownbere, which had been purchased to collect drugs from the main vessel. Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk and Vitaliy Vlasoi, both 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, all pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Mathew between 24 and 26 September 2023. Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023. Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, also 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 the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Lawyers for Vitaliy Lapa claimed the now-62-year-old was not aware of the full scale of the operation (Brian Lawless/PA) Colman Cody SC, counsel for Lapa, told the sentence hearing that his client was not aware of the full scale of the operation and did not have full knowledge of the operation or the structures of the criminal organisation. The married father-of-two was told he would be paid 5,000 euros for his involvement in the operation. Lapa had been in the merchant navy and had previously worked on fishing boats. He had recently retired and was a pensioner in Ukraine. Detective Superintendent Keith Halley agreed that Lapa was at the lower end of the structure. Estoesta was the second officer on board the vessel, who said he had met some of the crew in Venezuela. The court heard how some members of the hired crew were distracted at night while those from the criminal enterprise had loaded some of the cargo containing drugs on to the vessel. They claimed that they had been entertained with alcohol while the so-called spare parts were being transferred on to the ship. Vitaliy Vlasoi claimed his 'realisation' of the situation came too late when he discovered that the enterprise was being run at a higher level by people not on the ship (Niall Carson/PA) Estoesta admitted he was concerned it was more than spare parts, as he saw armed men on the other ship, which was offloading the large cargo. He said he didn't argue as he was terrified and was alone in the ocean. He thought the cargo may have contained contraband, like weapons or cigarettes. His barrister, Michael Hourigan, said that he had a genuine fear of the consequences if he did not follow orders. Vlasoi, a 33-year-old sailor, became involved in the operation after he was contacted when he posted his sailing credentials online. The court heard that he is married with a five-year-old child, who is now living in Ireland with the accused's mother. Paul O'Higgins SC for Vlasoi told the court that his client's 'realisation' of the situation came too late when he discovered that the enterprise was being run at a higher level by people not on the ship. He told gardai that there were outside forces in control. He was told he would be paid 5,000 euros for his part in the operation. Mr O'Higgins said that his client found himself in a vulnerable financial position as he tried to provide for his family during the war in Ukraine. Saeid Hassani claimed he succumbed to temptation because of financial pressure (Niall Carson/PA) Hassani, a third officer on board the vessel, qualified from maritime college in 2009 and had been at sea constantly for over a decade. Mark Lyam SC, for the 40-year-old, told the court he is married with a six-year-old daughter, and that he had financial responsibility to provide for his family, including medical care. Mr Lyam said he succumbed to temptation because of that financial pressure and wanting to spend more time with his family. The court was also told that he sent a text to someone in Dubai thanking them for the opportunity. Hassani, who was airlifted from the boat, was described as being the lowest rank in terms of officers. Jamie Harbron, of South Avenue, Billingham, was described in court as a drug user, induced into the operation to clear a debt (Brian Lawless/PA) Meanwhile, Michael O'Higgins SC, counsel for Harbron, described his client as a drug abuser who was 'induced' into the operation to clear a drug debt. Described as being a last-minute entry into the enterprise, he was offered a 10,000 euro reduction on his drug debt of 20,000 euros. From Scotland, the court heard how Harbron, who was on board the second ship, the Castlemor, had no sailing experience, was not able to operate the radio and was not able to locate the life vest on board. Mr O'Higgins said he had no role in organising, financing or giving directions. Harbron suspected the cargo on board the larger vessel was drugs, but he said he was shocked when he saw the size of it. Drugs worth almost 160 million euros were seized from the MV Matthew by Irish authorities (Niall Carson/PA) Brendan Grehan SC, counsel for Dutch national Ozgen, admitted to having loaded three crates of drugs onto the vessel and also played a part in trying to burn drugs by getting paint thinners. He said he expected to earn a bonus of between 50,000 euros and 100,000 euros. Mr Grehan said that Ozgen, who had no sailing experience, has a son with a serious health issue following an operation on a brain tumour. 'It was partly the attraction in terms of getting involved in that he would get money to help (his son) out,' Mr Grehan added. He told the court that his client was involved in a misguided attempt to get money for his family. Keivon Sotoodeh, junior counsel for Jelveh, told the court that his client is a 51-year-old with two adult children. Mr Sotoodeh said Jelveh was simply following orders and accepts he got himself involved in this, however, he 'wasn't at the top of the food chain'. The matter has been put back to July 4. The men have been remanded on the same terms and conditions.
RTÉ News
03-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
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.
