Bulk carrier MATTHEW was intercepted and boarded by joint forces Naval Service, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Army Ranger Wing, on Sep 24 in Irish sea. The ship refused to comply orders and sail to Cork, and tried to flee, so warning shots and helicopter to board the ship, were used. Bulk carrier has been docked at Cork on Sep 26, and thoroughly searched by anti drug agencies. Load or cocaine was found, quantity not revealed.
A small local fishing vessel with 3 men was also detained, the boat was to take all or part of cocaine and deliver on land.
MATTHEW started her journey on Aug 10 from Curacao, Caribbean, and the journey has a rather complicated plot, with some time spent off Guyana coast, with drift off Azores, and with changing owner and name (ex- HOMMON) in August. Destination was Gdansk, then in Celtic sea replaced with Belfast. Crew is undoubtedly, involved in ship’s illegal activities, as well as management.
Looks like the ship was bought by drug traffickers for one-time run, or was it a test run?
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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