Two men charged over cocaine seizure off Cork coast
Jamie Hardbron, left, and Vitaliy Lapa, right, appeared in court on Friday
At a glance
Two men have appeared in court in connection with a cocaine seizure off the Cork coast.
They have been charged with conspiracy to import drugs offences.
The seizure of an estimated €150m of cocaine was described by Gardaí as the largest in the history of the State.
- Published
Two men have appeared in court in connection with the seizure of a large amount of cocaine off the southern coast of the Republic of Ireland.
The drugs, which Gardaí (Irish police) said have an estimated street value of €150m, were taken from a bulk cargo ship off County Cork on Wednesday.
In court were Jamie Harbron, 31, with an address of South Avenue, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, England and 60-year-old Vitaliy Lapa of no fixed abode, but originally from Ukraine.
The pair appeared at a special sitting of Waterford District Court on Friday evening.
Gardaí said the seizure was the largest in the history of the Irish state.
Both men are charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
Neither made any reply when charged. They were remanded in custody to appear before Wexford District Court, via video link, on Monday.
Jamie Harbron was one of two men who appeared in court on Friday evening
The two men were arrested after being winched to safety from a trawler off the Wexford coast after the vessel ran aground on a sandbank on Sunday night.
Their appearance in court arose from an ongoing major investigation into illegal drug smuggling, focusing this week on the activities of the MV Matthew cargo ship.
The Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, which left South America last month, was intercepted and escorted to port in Cork on Tuesday by an Irish joint task force which included gardaí, the naval service, army rangers and revenue and customs staff.
Also in court was 60-year-old Vitaliy Lapa
It is suspected that the ship was intending to rendezvous with the trawler which ran aground off the Wexford coast.
Five other men also arrested in connection with the operation remain in custody