Four men – including one from Derry – arrested in the early hours of Monday morning on suspicion of assisting a organised crime group (OCG) in the importation of controlled drugs from “a mothership” off the coast of Kerry have had their period of detention extended.
But a special sitting of the Killarney District Court was told that, to date, no drugs have been found.
According to RTE News, the four men are being held in Killarney and Tralee Garda stations and include a man from Eastern Europe with an address in Manchester, a man with an address in Derry, and two men with addresses in Glasgow.
The court heard “vast resources” have been deployed in the course of the investigation.
This was the evidence of Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said in the course of applications for warrants to extend the period of detention of the four men for up to an additional 72 hours.
The applications were under Section 53 of the Criminal Justice Act.
On Sunday, acting on confidential information, gardaí became aware of four men acting suspiciously.
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB) had been taken to the Glen Pier in Ballinskelligs in south Kerry, and two high-powered engines fitted to it.
A second RIB had been parked at Portmagee, taken there by a Land Rover Discovery used by the men.
On Sunday, one of the RIBs was taken 100km to Meenogahane Pier in the north of the county and all four men were allegedly observed boarding the RIB and heading out to sea shortly after midnight.
The RIB was observed returning and the men got into the Land Rover Discovery. A number of items were recovered from the vehicle, including night vision equipment, GPS equipment and seven mobile phones, Chief Supt Boland told the court.
Gardaí suspect the men were involved in the importation of controlled drugs placed in the water by a vessel known as “a mothership”, Chief Supt Boland said.
The mothership has been identified, he said. To date no controlled drugs have been seized, he added.
The men were arrested at 5.20am on Monday morning, as they were on their way back from Meenogahane Pier near Ballyheigue.
They were arrested under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 on suspicion of enhancing or facilitating the ability of a criminal organisation to commit a serious offence, which was the importation and possession for supply of controlled drugs, Chief Supt Boland said.
No drugs were found. However, several phones were seized, including “a highly-encrypted device that we see at the highest level of international crime,” he said.
Five interviews have taken place so far with the men, he said.
He said the electronic devices were being analysed and there were witness statements as well as CCTV from Co Kerry and the M1 motorway to be examined and put to the arrested men.
Significant international enquiries are being made involving international police organisations, including Interpol, Europol in the Hague, the maritime drugs investigation unit in Portugal and other policing units.
This is to confirm the identity of each of the accused and to establish their alleged role in the planning and importation of controlled drugs, Chief Supt Boland said.
The court sitting heard how the men are alleged to have rented a cottage in Ballinskelligs on 7 January, and how they had paid €12,000 in cash for the second RIB in Kerry.
Solicitors for the men – Padraig O’Connell, Pat Mann and Brendan Ahern – put it to Chief Supt Boland that no drugs were found, and their clients enjoyed the presumption of innocence.
Judge David Waters granted the extension for the proper investigation of the offence, saying he was satisfied the investigation was being conducted diligently.
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