Gardai arrest bar worker on suspicion of aiding gang behind massive MV Matthew cocaine seizure

Sources have told The Mirror that the woman, who is in her 30s and was arrested after a cross-border operation by gardai and PSNI detectives, is suspected of being involved in the gang’s logistics operation – not the smuggling operation itself.

Gardai were last night questioning a bar worker on suspicion of helping the gang behind the massive seizure of cocaine on the MV Matthew.

Sources have told The Mirror that the woman, who is in her 30s and was arrested after a cross-border operation by gardaí and PSNI detectives, is suspected of being involved in the gang’s logistics operation – not the smuggling operation itself.

The seizure, at the end of September off the south coast, was the biggest cocaine seizure by weight in Irish history at 2.2 tonnes – and would have been worth a massive €500 million on the streets.

The Kinahan cartel was involved in financing the operation – which was foiled when members of the elite Army Ranger Wing fast roped onto the Panama registered freighter and seized control of it after it ignored Naval Service warning shots for it to sop.

Several men have already been charged over the haul, but the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau has been investigating people they suspect were involved in the plot ever since – and made their move on the woman in her 30s on Tuesday.

She was arrested in Dublin by DOCB detectives yesterday and was last night being held in a Garda Station in the capital. She can be detained for up to a week.

At the same time gardaí carried out a number of searches in Dublin – while PSNI detectives did the same in Newry Co Down, as part of a joint agency task force.

A Garda spokesman said last night: “Working as part of the Joint Agency Task Force (JATF), members attached to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) conducted coordinated search operations in both jurisdictions simultaneously on Tuesday, 5th December 2023.

“The operations form part of ongoing investigations into the seizure of cocaine from a cargo ship off the coast of County Cork on Tuesday, 26th September 2023.

“In the course of the operation members of the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) conducted searches at locations in the Dublin area. A female in her 30s was arrested and is currently detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at a Garda Station in the Dublin Region. She can be held for up to seven days.”

And the PSNI said in its statement that it seized a number of items in the Newry searches. The force said: “Working as part of the Joint Agency Task Force (JATF), the Police Service of Northern Ireland and members attached to the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau conducted coordinated and simultaneous search operations earlier today, Tuesday 5 December.

“Detectives from the Police Service’s Organised Crime Branch, who carried out searches in Newry, seized a number of items, including a vehicle and mobile phones.

“All have been removed for further examination.

“Today’s searches are part of an investigation, led by An Garda Síochána, into a large seizure of cocaine from a cargo ship off the coast of Cork on Tuesday 26 September.

“Working with partners, the Police Service is committed to detecting and preventing drug-related activity – from the importation of drugs to the inevitable fallout.”

Gardaí believe several Irish gangs were involved in the MV Matthew scam and some of the cocaine was destined for the market here – while the rest of it was meant to go to Britain and Europe.

The cartel led by Daniel Kinahan (46) is suspected of helping to finance the scheme.