State moves to confiscate cocaine-smuggling ship MV Matthew

The €157m seizure ranks as the largest drug interdiction in Irish history.

The bulk carrier ship is to be surrendered to the State under the 2015 Customs Act, which states that any vessel that transports illegal goods into the country is liable to forfeiture.

The Irish Times reports that the MV Matthew will likely be auctioned off, with the State taking in the proceeds, although it could also be destroyed entirely.

Anyone who wished to contest the forfeiture had 30 days to do so, according to a notice published in Iris Oifigiúil, the official Irish State gazette, on October 20. The vessel is now “duly condemned as forfeited”, as of yesterday.

The 190m (620ft) ship, which was built in 2001 and is believed to be worth about €9.5 million and remains impounded as the garda investigation continues.

The MV Matthew, previously known as the MV Honmon, was officially seized by customs officers on October 19, three weeks after it was intercepted in a dramatic joint operation involving gardaí, the Defence Forces and Revenue.

The Panamanian-registered ship was attempting to leave Irish waters when it was intercepted.

The LÉ William Butler Yeats, a Naval Service vessel, fired warning shots to stop the ship, and it was eventually boarded by an armed party from the elite Army Ranger Wing before an arrest was made.

A record 2,253kg of cocaine worth €157 million was discovered in the cargo hold of the freighter, with gardaí describing it as the largest haul in the history of the State.

The street value of the drugs, once cut down and sold on, would have been up to three times that estimation.

The MV Matthew’s captain, Soheil Jelveh, and 24 crew members were detained and questioned following the seizure. Seven crew members have since been charged and are awaiting trial.

Gardaí investigating the seizure recently identified payments linked to criminal enterprise which originated in Dubai.

The analysis of financial transactions further strengthens garda suspicions that the Kinahan crime gang, whose leadership is based in the Middle Eastern metropolis, had a significant investment in the seized drug shipment.

It comes as senior Dubai police officials last month arrived in Dublin to meet with members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

The delegation was invited by ­Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, who himself visited the city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September in a bid to build stronger international relationships.

Senior detectives are now liaising with their Dubai counterparts in ­relation to the financial aspect of the seizure and are continuing to exchange intelligence and information.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said at the time: “I want to welcome our colleagues from the Dubai Police to Dublin. The Dubai Police has already provided us with great assistance with our ongoing investigations into transnational organised crime and the support from this delegation will further advance that co-operation.

“This initiative is another demonstration of the value of the expansion of the Garda international network of liaison officers and visits made by myself and other senior officers to the US, Colombia, Dubai, Asia and across Europe in recent years.

“These organised crime gangs cause misery not only in the countries they originate from, but across the globe.

“It is only through international co-operation among law enforcement that these gangs will be disrupted and dismantled.

“I want to thank the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs for their support for the expansion of the Garda international liaison network, which includes offices in the US, Colombia, Dubai, UK and Europe, with an additional office in Thailand to open shortly,” Mr Harris added.