More drug drama on the high seize

Gardai nab four men as €31m coke located in biggest haul here since MV Matthew

- BY NICOLA DONNELLY

GARDAI have foiled a global drug-smuggling operation after half a tonne of cocaine worth an estimated €31million was seized off the southwest coast.

It's believed the drugs, which were found in west Cork, may have originated in South America - and the seizure is the largest here since the massive €157m MV Matthew bust in 2023.

Four men have been arrested - three from Britain and one from Germany - and they remained in Garda custody last night, being quizzed at separate Garda stations in Cork.

The males, in their 30s and 40s, have been detained under drugs trafficking laws which allow gardai to detain suspects for up to seven days before they must be charged or released.

Gardai were monitoring the operation as the gang landed the drugs at around 4am and loaded the shipment into a van.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau then arrested two of the men near Courtmacsherry after they landed half a tonne of cocaine at Broad Strand.

The others were arrested by officers from GNDOCB on board a boat which was apprehended off Co Waterford by the Naval Service.