IRISH SPECIAL FORCES operators and Customs officials have been honoured at a ceremony in Portugal for their part in the seizure of Ireland’s biggest ever drugs haul. 

The capture off the Waterford coast of the MV Matthew by the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) saw €157m worth of cocaine seized in a daring raid in September 2023. 

The ARW were the boarding party of the mission, which was known as Operation Piano, with the naval service crew of the LÉ William Butler Yeats, the Irish Air Corps, gardaí and Revenue Customs also playing a key role. 

Irish authorities intercepted the cargo ship off the Waterford coast and staged a dramatic raid in September 2023.

Eight men found guilty of playing a part in the operation were sentenced in September at the Special Criminal Court, they were sentenced to between 13 to 20 years in jail. 

Intelligence gathered by gardaí were key to the success of the operation – according to a garda spokesman this data stated that there would be drugs importation by sea into Ireland. This information was shared with the Customs and the international agency,  Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, which then identified the Matthew and a fishing vessel the Castlemore.

On 30 October last, at the offices of MAOC-N in the Portuguese capital the ARW, and customs received the MAOC-N medal for their part in the operation. 

A statement from the Irish Defence Forces said that the ARW and other agencies received the award in the annual ceremony honouring excellence in targeting international organised crime.  

“The award recognised the ARW’s role in Operation Piano and the successful seizure of the MV Matthew, conducted as part of a Joint Task Force operation involving An Garda Síochána, the Irish Customs Service, and the Defence Forces, including the Naval Service, Air Corps, and Army Ranger Wing.

“These awards highlighted the strong international cooperation fostered by MAOC-N and the vital role of Ireland’s security and defence agencies in combating transnational crime,” the Defence Forces said. 

The ARW had been nominated for the award by An Garda Síochána. 

A member of the Army Ranger Wing with the medal the team had received from MAOC-N. Niall O'Connor / The Journal Niall O'Connor / The Journal / The Journal

Separately, according to a garda spokesperson, an award was also presented to Customs Cutter Commander Conor Burke and Darren O’Driscoll having both been nominated by Revenue Commissioners Customs Service.

This was in honour for the work of the Customs ship (known as cutters) crews who have been regularly involved in drug interdiction operations. 

This follows a previous award was presented by MAOC-N for the Joint Task Force in 2024 – this included Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau Detective Superintendent Joseph O’Reilly.

The citation for O’Reilly’s award listed a number of major operations he was directly involved in including the seizure of the MV Matthew drugs and the targeting of a Hungarian registered aircraft ferrying illegal drugs to Ireland at Weston Airfield in Dublin in 2023. 

The MV Matthew was a multi-agency operation co-ordinated by the Joint Task Force which is an agency set up to deal with large scale drug importation cases. 

Initially it was planned to take the drugs in an operation on the East Coast but the MV Matthew failed to make a rendezvous with a fishing boat, the Castlemore, off Wexford. 

The large bulk carrier, which was purchased by a cartel of international criminals based in Dubai, including the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, then ran for open water when it was contacted by the Navy.

Warning shots were fired by the LÉ William Butler Yeats before it was decided a helicopter raid by the ARW would be used to capture the vessel. 

The MV Matthew remains in Cork Harbour as Irish authorities attempt to sell it – the men involved in the shipment continue their lengthy prison sentences. 

The ship was only one part of a disparate multi-gang global drug smuggling operation to move drugs manufactured in South America to the European market.