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LAST UPDATE | 5 Jul
IRISH CRIMINALS ARE at the top tier of international organised crime, a senior Interpol official has said.
This morning, at Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork, Irish and international agencies involved in Operation Piano, the mission to capture the MV Matthew, have spoken for the first time about how Ireland’s largest ever cocaine seizure happened.
Gardaí, Customs, the Naval Service, Interpol and MAOC-N outlined their teams’ work in the capture in September 2023.
Yesterday eight men, from Ukraine, Iran and the UK were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for their part in the mission.
This morning, at a press conference, the voicemails from the Dubai based criminal controller were played for the first time for media.
In an extraordinary video produced by the Garda Press Office and issued by participating agencies – the true drama of Operation Piano was revealed.
As revealed yesterday by The Journal part of the operation was a fundraising drive by Iranian operatives on behalf of the Hezbollah terror group. It was confirmed in Haulbowline this morning that three of the men on board were part of that Iranian team.
Speaking to The Journal after the press conference David Caunter, of the Interpol Organised and Emerging Crime Directorate, said that Irish criminals are right at the head of the global organised crime snake.
“It [Irish criminal involvement in a European super cartel] continues to evolve. These cartels are super resilient.
“They’re looking for new ways to get their drugs to market. So I think it’s changing. I think the threat of synthetic drugs is on the rise globally. We’re seeing synthetic drug markets popping up, especially here in Europe, which is an alarming trend just based from the high potential for death overdose deaths like we’ve seen in North America.
“So that’s something that we’re monitoring quite closely,” he said.
Caunter said that there is evidence of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs such as nitazene which has become more prevalent across Europe.
“We’re also seeing an increase in what we call poly drug cocktail drugs, pink cocaine, for example, which actually doesn’t contain cocaine, but it is a mixture of various different synthetic drugs.
“When organisations are poisoning the streets with those types of substances, there’s a high potential for overdose deaths and [associated] illnesses,” he added.
He said that the nitazenes are more prevalent in Europe because the American market was hit first with fentanyl and the abuse of prescription drugs.
Nitazene has been found in Ireland in counterfeit yellow tranquiliser style drugs – a warning has been issued by the HSE to users after several overdoses.
Caunter said the “traditional plant based drug manufacturing” is not limited by geographical location and the crime groups are now moving towards synthetic drugs as it is easier to produce locally.
“It can really happen anywhere, anywhere in the world, and that’s what makes it quite alarming. You can, you can move your your production zone right next to your your transportation networks,” he added.
Caunter said that connections between European organised crime involving Irish criminals with their counterparts such as the Sinaloa Cartel is widespread and evolving.
When asked where do Irish organised criminals sit on the seniority level in global crime, whether they are top tier, middle or bottom, he said: “ I would say they’re a top criminal organisation.”
Sjoerd Top, the director of the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) based in Lisbon, Portugal.
Speaking in Haulbowline Naval Base this morning he said that Ireland was an example of the successes that can come from working together with international partners and Irish state agencies.
Gardaí and Revenue Customs had received intelligence in Ireland prior to Operation Piano that also assisted in the targeting of the five people buying the Castlemore, the fishing boat which was destined to be used to transfer the drugs from the MV Matthew.
This information was then married up with MAOC-N information that ultimately led to the seizure.
Ireland runs a coastwatch initiative where people can contact the authorities to tell them of suspicious activity.
Top referenced the seizure of €51m worth of cocaine in Cork last week and spoke of the importance of liaising with the Irish public when dealing with organised crime.
“Both cases show that cooperation, both nationally and internationally is crucial, and Ireland is an example for others of how to organise yourself well nationally and connect that with international bodies such as MAOC-N.
“I want to highlight the point that often gets less attention, but in my view has been crucial in this case. Ireland was able to engage the public and ask them to report strange behavior of their individuals. It has been able to link local knowledge with intelligence coming from international partners.
“Tackling organised crime groups benefits from a resilient society where the public, police, and customs are closely linked. That is not to be underestimated part of the success in these cases,” he said.
Top explained that part of the assessment carried out by MAOC-N is about deciding which country can best target individual shipments and that is how Ireland succeeded in the MV Matthew mission.
“[We analyse] which country had the best chance of making a successful interdiction that would lead to a successful prosecution.
“And based on the intelligence brought in by several countries, [Irish] liaison officers based in Lisbon, Portugal, we were able to swiftly organise that Ireland had the chance of a successful engagement where evidence could be gathered.
“In addition, we were able to support Ireland with analysis on vessel movements that clearly showed that those on board had evil intentions. In supporting so we were not only able to support Ireland but also other countries to use their scarce resources effectively and efficiently,” he added.
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