3 days ago
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.
