Five individuals, apprehended on a cargo vessel off Cork’s shoreline last year, will be facing trial at the Special Criminal Court. This follows the state’s largest drug bust, where over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a worth of approximately €157 million, were confiscated.
The charged individuals were all crew members of the MV Matthew, which was seized in a combined mission involving customs, the gardaí, and the Naval Service. Army Rangers boarded and detained the vessel off the east Cork coast in the early hours of September 26th, 2023.
In the latest court hearing with strict security measures at the Mallow District Court, all five accused made an appearance. Inspector Tony O’Sullivan revealed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requested an indictment trial at the Special Criminal Court and asked for the defendants to remain in custody until May 21st.
These individuals include Ukrainians Myhailo Gavryk (31) and Vitaliy Vlasoi (31), Iranian Saeid Hassani (38), Dutchman Cumali Ozgen (49) and Filipino Harold Estoesta. They were earlier charged with scheming with others to hold the cocaine for sale or supply within the State on September 24th, 2023.
But on Tuesday, four of the accused, Mr. Gavryk, Mr. Vlasoi, Mr. Hassani, and Mr. Ozgen, were accused of a new crime, which Mr. Estoesta had been previously charged with — knowingly partaking in a criminal organisation’s activities, under section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The charge stipulates that they willingly or recklessly facilitated a serious offence committed by the criminal organisation.
Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau officers, David Moran, Lorraine Brennan, and Mark Donovan, testified to the arrest, charge, and caution of the new charge against all four. Three of the defendants chose to remain silent, while Mr. Hassani rejected the charges, declaring, “I do not accept it.”
Inspector O’Sullivan has reported that the required book of evidence is nearing completion, with about 75% of it ready. However, he has requested an additional two-week extension for all five involved individuals to make an appearance at Mallow District Court on May 21st. While he hopes the book of evidence will be prepared by the following Tuesday, the inclusion of a new criminal organization allegation warrants a directive from Foreign Affairs minister, Micheál Martin. Whether Martin will be in the country to sanction the order by May 14th was unclear, the inspector added.
Mr. Desmond, the lawyer for Mr. Estoesta, discussed his client’s six-month remand and the state’s request for an extended service period for the book of evidence, far exceeding the customary 42 days. He claimed that seeking another two-week delay was simply unacceptable.
Don Ryan, Mr. Hassani’s lawyer, noted that his client had originally been charged with a conspiracy offence based on the Criminal Justice Act 2006’s Section 71 on October 2nd, only to have the charge dropped on November 21st. Both David O’Meara, who represents Mr. Gavryk, and barristers Nicholas Hall and Ross Pratt O’Brien, who respectively represent Mr Ozgen and Vlasoi, voiced similar displeasure with the State’s approach, warning of a delay in reaching the Special Criminal Court.
Judge Colm Roberts agreed to postpone the matter until May 14th to allow the State to ascertain when the ministerial order would be signed and the book of evidence presented to all five defendants on May 21st at Mallow District Court. While the judge acknowledged the legal necessity of a signed ministerial order to allow the accused to stand trial, he questioned why the DPP and Gardaí took so long to bring up this new charge, given that they have known the case’s details for six months.
Judge Roberts voiced his displeasure at being given assurance by the State regarding the preparedness of the book of evidence, only to be taken aback by an unforeseen charge emerging at the last minute. He voiced unhappiness over this unexpected turn of events and subtly censured the last-minute introduction of this charge, stating that it did not cast a favourable light on the court.
Despite acknowledging the gravity of the case and appreciating the toil put in by the gardaí in an undoubtedly intricate investigation, Judge Roberts emphasised that it wasn’t about being overly sensitive. While recognizing his own seemingly humble position within the procedure, he insisted on the utmost importance of preserving the system’s integrity.