Ireland 'no soft touch' on drugs, says minister

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

Ireland is "anything but a soft touch" for international drug traffickers, the country's justice minister has said.

Helen McEntee was speaking to reporters following the largest drugs seizure in the history of the state.

Officials recovered more than two tonnes of cocaine after storming a Panamanian-registered ship, MV Matthew, on Tuesday.

On Thursday, gardaí (Irish police) investigating the operation arrested a man for alleged organised crime offences.

This brings the total number of persons in custody to seven.

Authorities said the 2,253kg of cocaine had a conservative estimated value of €157m (£136m).

The drug was supplied by a "murderous" South American cartel group, Garda Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly told reporters on Wednesday.

Mr Kelly said it was a "hugely significant, transnational operation" with cooperation from international drug enforcement partners in the United States, UK, France and Portugal.

The drugs were bound for both Ireland and other parts of Europe, he added.

MV Matthew had been tracked by the Irish authorities over a number of days prior to the joint task force operation.

Soldiers from the Army Ranger Wing could be seen on board the ship

Ms McEntee was asked whether drug traffickers were attempting to use Ireland to enter the European market - given that only two of the eight ships in the Irish Naval Service are currently able to carry out offshore patrols.

One of those patrol vessels, the LÉ William Butler Yeats, fired warning shots in the direction of MV Matthew after it failed to obey orders during Tuesday's operation.

"I think what's clear from this week's find is that Ireland is anything but a soft touch," Minister McEntee told reporters as she attended a meeting in Brussels.

"This is a seizure worth 158 million euros worth of cocaine," Ms McEntee added.

"This was an operation led by An Garda Síochána but working collaboratively with our Defence Forces, our Naval Services, Revenue and Customs, but also with intelligence from our counterparts right across the water and right across Europe.

"So what it shows is that we are very much in the game, that we are very much part of a joint effort to take down these organised crime gangs."