Derry man Conor Costello charged over drug smuggling plot
All five faced a single charge on Friday night of conspiring to import drugs with a value of more than €13,000 into the Republic between last Saturday and Monday.
According to RTE News, the men are:
30-year-old Conor Costello with an address at Earhart Park, Madamsbank Road, Derry;
45-year old Miljan Koprivica, an Eastern European with an address in Manchester;
31-year old Ryan Watson, and 40-year old Gary Monks, both with addresses in Glasgow.
40-year old Gary Monks with an address in Glasgow appeared before the court
The fifth man is Feljon Lao, who is 28.
The court was told he is a Filipino seaman on $200 per week and he works on board a cargo ship which was searched in the Shannon Estuary on Wednesday.
An interpreter was sworn in to assist Mr Lao.
28-year-old Feljon Lao was one of five people before the court
All five were granted free legal aid.
They were remanded in custody and will be back before the district court in Tralee next Wednesday.
Gardaí say their investigation is continuing.
Earlier this week a 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 in the course of applications for warrants to extend the period of detention of the 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 the 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.
Several phones were seized, including “a highly-encrypted device that we see at the highest level of international crime,” 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.
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