Three arrested after Irish armed forces storm cargo ship

Army Rangers were seen on board MV Matthew as it arrived in Cork

Three men have been arrested after armed forces stormed a cargo ship off the Irish coast, An Garda Síochána (Irish police) have said.

A "significant quantity" of controlled drugs were found onboard.

Naval officers fired warning shots after the Panamanian registered ship failed to stop.

The men, aged 60, 50 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of organised crime offences and are in custody in County Wexford.

It is suspected the ship, named MV Matthew, is involved in trafficking cocaine.

The elite Army Ranger Wing stormed the vessel with assistance from the Naval Service, Air Corps, Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and customs officers.

Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Seán Clancy commended their "courage, discipline and professionalism".

The cargo ship will be impounded and subjected to a detailed examination by police and customs officers.

Crowds of people lined the walls of Cobh harbour as the vessel was moved to a naval base on Haulbowline in County Cork.

Soldiers from the Ranger Wing were seen on board alongside the ship's crew members and other Defence Forces personnel.

How the raid unfolded

• On Sunday night, a trawler runs aground off the coast of Wexford and a distress call is sent out

• This sparks a response from the Irish Naval Service, gardaí, a lifeboat crew and a Coast Guard helicopter team

• Two men are winched from the vessel, which remains wedged on a sandbank

• Through Sunday night into Monday, another ship, MV Matthew, slows down while passing Wexford

• At 06:00 on Monday, the MV Matthew changes course heading towards Ireland.

• From 20:00 to 08:00 on Tuesday, the ship remains static off the coast of Waterford

• Having left its position, the ship heads south-west towards the Atlantic but changes course suddenly at 11:30 Tuesday

• The elite Army Ranger Wing then storms the vessel

• At 20:00, the ship is escorted into the port of Cork

The major multi-agency operation followed an alert after a separate boat ran aground off the east coast on Sunday night.

A fishing trawler sent out a distress call, which sparked the multi-agency response involving the Irish Naval Service, gardaí (Irish police), a lifeboat crew and a Coast Guard helicopter team.

Two men were winched to safety from the stricken vessel.

It remains wedged on a sandbank off the coast of Rosslare in County Wexford, along the southern coast of Ireland.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that what began as a rescue mission "developed into a major security operation".

Assistance was requested from the Irish Defence Forces who tasked LÉ William Butler Yeats - a P63 naval vessel - two AW139 helicopters, one CASA fixed wing aircraft and one PC12 fixed wing aircraft.

The cargo ship had been tracked by the Irish authorities over a number of days.

A specialist army team was deployed by helicopter onto MV Matthew using a fast rope insertion in what the Irish Defence Forces said were "challenging conditions".

They made the ship safe so military and police personnel could board it.

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin commended all involved in the multi-agency operation and the “bravery” of the Irish Army and Navy.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the drugs on board would have "no doubt been destined for Irish and European markets".

In a statement, she added: "It will represent a blow to the organised-crime gangs involved in drug distribution internationally."

Speaking to RTÉ, Michael O'Sullivan, former head of the EU's anti-drugs smuggling agency, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, said the Irish Naval service was the "unsung hero of Europe".