Latest news with #MarkDoherty
RTÉ News
16 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Four men charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Co Cork
Four men have appeared before Bandon District Court charged in connection with Tuesday's €31 million cocaine seizure. Three of the four are British and the fourth has an address in Germany. All four face two charges each: possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, on Tuesday. The four are 40-year old Mark Doherty, with an address at Waterfront Avenue, Glasgow, and 39-year old Ben Sanford, with an address at Moray in Scotland; 31-year old Levent Gulay, with an address in Bavaria, Germany, and 44-year old Christopher Hibbett from Cornwall in England. Detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau gave evidence to the court of arresting and charging the four men. Three of them did not reply when the charges were put to them. There were no applications for bail, and Judge Joanne Carroll remanded all four in custody. They will be back before Macroom District Court next Wednesday. Detectives from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau have also identified the mothership which was used to transport the cocaine from South America, across the Atlantic to the Irish coastline. The ship's crew have been interviewed. No arrests have been made.
The Journal
18 hours ago
- The Journal
Four men charged in connection with seizure of €31m worth of cocaine in Co Cork
FOUR MEN HAVE appeared before a court in West Cork charged in connection with the seizure of €31 million worth of cocaine in Courtmacsherry in west Cork on Tuesday. All four men have been remanded in custody. One of the men has an address in Germany whilst three of the accused are British nationals. Levant Gulay, Mark Doherty, Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett appeared before Bandon court charged in connection with the seizure of 440kgs of cocaine. They were brought to the court by members of the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau. Gardaí were assisted by the Armed Support Unit. Detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of the four accused at garda stations in Bandon in the county and Togher in Cork city. All four men were charged with possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork on 1 July 2025. Detective Garda John McWeeney gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Mark Doherty (40) of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland. He said that Mr Doherty made no reply when the charges were put to him. Detective Garda Shane Kiely gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ben Sandford (39) of Woodgreen, Drum Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland. He also made no reply to the charges. Detective Garda Marguerite Reilly gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Levant Gulay (31) of Schwabeenstrasse 76, Neu Ulm, Germany. He made no reply to the charges. Advertisement Detective Garda Gavin Curran, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution of Christopher Hibbett (44) of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, England. Detective Garda Curran told the court that Mr Hibbett stated 'I'm fucking sorry, that's it' when he put the possession of cocaine for sale or supply charge to him earlier today at Togher Garda Station. Solicitors Myra Dineen and Plunkett Taaffe, representing Mr Gulay and Mr Doherty respectively, said that their clients were reserving their positions on bail. Both solicitors opted to stand in for Frank Buttimer for Mr Sandford and for solicitor Eddie Burke for Mr Hibbett. They confirmed that they were also not seeking bail for either man at this juncture. Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Judge Joanne Carroll that gardai were seeking a remand in custody for all four men to Macroom District Court on 9 July. Judge Carroll remanded all four accused to appear in court on that date. Judge Carroll also requested that defence solicitors provide two days notice to gardai if their clients intend to make bail applications on the next occasion. All four men also have to supply statement of means to the court. The men were held under drugs trafficking legislation which allowed gardai to detain them for up to seven days. The arrests occurred as part of a Joint Task Force Drugs Interdiction Operation.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Four men remanded after appearing in court charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Cork when van stopped & searched
FOUR men have appeared before Bandon District Court charged in connection with a €31 million cocaine seizure. Three of the four accused are British, while the fourth has an address in 4 Ben Sandford of Moray, Scotland arriving at Bandon District Court Credit: Provision 4 Mark Doherty of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow was in court charged in connection with a €31m cocaine seizure Credit: Provision 4 Christopher Hibbett of Truro, Cornwall is also charged Credit: Provision Earlier this week, The men who appeared in court are 40-year old Mark Doherty, with an address at Waterfront Avenue, Glasgow; 41-year old Ben Sandfield, with an address at Moray in All four face two charges each: possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry on Tuesday. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau to Judge Joanne Carroll. Read more in News Detective Garda John McWeeney said he arrested Mark Doherty and charged him with the two charges. He made no reply when charged. Lawyer Plunkett Taaffe, defending, applied for free legal aid and said his client was not applying for bail at this time. Judge Carroll said a statement of means must be provided before granting his application. Detective Garda Marguerite Reilly said she arrested Levent Gulay and charged him with the two drugs charges on July 2 at 20.45 in Bandon Garda Station. Most read in The Irish Sun He made no reply. The services of a German interpreter were used both in the Garda Station and in the court this morning. Lawyer Myra Dineen said there would be no bail application at this time, but there may be at a later date. 'SORRY' Detective Garda Gavin Curran said he charged Christopher Hibbett and cautioned him. He made no reply to possession of cocaine but replied to the charge of possession for sale or supply: 'I am f***ing sorry. That's it.' Detective Garda Shane Kiely said he arrested and charged Ben Sanford who made no reply to the charges. Sergeant Tom Mulcahy said he was seeking a remand in custody to Macroom District Court on July 9. REMANDED Judge Joanne Carroll said the State is to be provided with 48 hours notice of any applications for bail, and statements of means for all defendants requesting free legal aid was to be produced 24 hours in advance of court appearances to give the court time to consider the applications. She remanded the four defendants in custody, which she said could be for no more than eight days. They will all appear in Macroom District Court on July 9. 4 Levant Gulay of Neu Ulm, Germany at Bandon District Court Credit: Provision
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Four men appear in court charged with seizure of €31m worth of cocaine in Co Cork
Four men have appeared before a court in West Cork charged in connection with the seizure of €31 million worth of cocaine in Courtmacsherry in west Cork on Tuesday. All four men have been remanded in custody. One of the men has an address in Germany whilst three of the men are British nationals. Advertisement Levant Gulay, Mark Dohery, Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett appeared before Bandon court charged in connection with the seizure of 440kgs of cocaine. They were brought to the court by members of the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau. Gardai were assisted by the Armed Support Unit. Detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of the four accused at garda stations in Bandon in the county and Togher in Cork city. All four men were charged with possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry, Co Cork on July 1st 2025. Advertisement Det Garda John McWeeney gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Mark Doherty (40) of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland. He said that Mr Doherty made no reply when the charges were put to him. Det Garda Shane Kiely gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ben Sandford (39) of Woodgreen, Drum Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland. He also made no reply to the charges. Det Garda Marguerite Reilly gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Levant Gulay (31) of Schwabeenstrasse 76, Neu Ulm, Germany. He made no reply to the charges. Det Garda Gavin Curran, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution of Christopher Hibbett (44) of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, England. Advertisement Det Garda Curran told the court that Mr Hibbett stated 'I'm fucking sorry, that's it' when he put the possession of cocaine for sale or supply charge to him earlier today at Togher Garda Station. Solicitors Myra Dineen and Plunkett Taaffe, representing Mr Gulay and Mr Doherty respectively, said that their clients were reserving their positions on bail. Both solicitors opted to stand in for Frank Buttimer for Mr Sandford and for solicitor Eddie Burke for Mr Hibbett. They confirmed that they were also not seeking bail for either man at this juncture. Sgt Tom Mulcahy told Judge Joanne Carroll that gardaí were seeking a remand in custody for all four men to Macroom District Court on July 9th. Judge Carroll remanded all four accused to appear in court on that date. Advertisement Judge Carroll also requested that defence solicitors provide two days notice to gardaí if their clients intend to make bail applications on the next occasion. All four men also have to supply statement of means to the court. The men were held under drugs trafficking legislation which allowed gardai to detain them for seven days. The arrests occurred as part of a Joint Task Force Drugs Interdiction Operation.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Four men remanded in custody charged over €31m cocaine seizure in Co Cork
Four men have been remanded in custody after being charged in connection with a €31 million drugs seizure in Co Cork on Tuesday. Mark Doherty, Levent Gulay, Ben Sandford and Christopher Hibbett were all charged in connection with the seizure of 440kg of cocaine in Courtmacsherry by gardaí as part of a joint operation with Revenue Customs and Naval Service. The four men were brought to Bandon District Court by officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, with support from the force's Armed Support Unit. They were charged with the same two offices – possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at Meelmane, Courtmacsherry on July 1st last. READ MORE Four detectives from the bureau gave evidence of arresting and charging the four accused at Bandon and Togher Garda stations in Cork Det Garda John McWeeney gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Doherty (40), of Waterfoot Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland. He said the accused made no reply to the charges. Det Garda Marguerite Reilly gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Gulay (31), of Schwabeenstrasse 76, Neu Ulm, Germany, who also made no reply. Det Garda Shane Kiely gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Sandford (39), of Woodgreen, Drum Road, Keith, Moray, Scotland. He made no reply to the charges. Det Garda Gavin Curran gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Hibbett (44), of Lower Park, Trissillian, Truro, England, who replied to one of the charges. Det Garda Curran said Mr Hibbett replied, 'I'm f***ing sorry, that's it' when he put the possession of cocaine for sale or supply charge to him. Solicitors Plunkett Taaffe, representing Mr Doherty, and Myra Dineen, representing Mr Gulay, said heir clients were not applying for bail but were reserving their positions. Both solicitors, deputising for Frank Buttimer for Mr Sanford and deputising for Eddie Burke for Mr Hibbett, confirmed they were similarly not seeking bail for either man at this point. Sgt Tom Mulcahy said gardaí were seeking a remand in custody to Macroom District Court on July 9th. Judge Joanne Carroll remanded all four in custody to appear there on that date. She also asked the defence solicitors to provide 48 hours' notice to gardaí if their clients intended to make applications for bail before the appearance at Macroom court. She acceded to a garda request that all four accused supply statements of means to accompany any applications they might make for free legal aid at any future appearance.
