Seven jailed for smuggling 600kg of cocaine worth €42m into Ireland

Seven men received sentences of ten to twelve years from the Special Criminal Court for conspiring to import over 600kg of cocaine into Ireland via a ship from Brazil.

Special Criminal Court jails seven over €42m cocaine conspiracy off Irish coast

Seven men have been sentenced to between ten and twelve years in prison after conspiring to import more than 600kg of cocaine, valued at approximately €42 million, into Ireland, RTÉ reports. The Special Criminal Court handed down the sentences following guilty pleas from all seven defendants, who operated in structured cells under the direction of overseas handlers.

Three of the convicted men — Filipinos Hanz Pangahin, 36, Christopher Ampo, 44, and Feljon Lao, 29 — were crew members aboard the MV Royal, a Malta-flagged vessel that had sailed from Brazil with the drugs concealed in 24 bags secured at the front of the ship. All three received sentences of ten and a half years.

A separate "landing cell" of four men, each with addresses in the United Kingdom, had travelled to Ireland to collect the cocaine from the ship using a rigid inflatable boat. Miljan Koprivica, 46, of Bollin Drive in Manchester, received the heaviest sentence of twelve years. Conor Costello, 31, of Earhart Park, Madamsbank Road in Co Derry, Gary Monks, 40, of Amulree Place in Glasgow, and Ryan Watson, 32, of Mailerbeg Gardens in Glasgow each received sentences of ten to ten and a half years.

The MV Royal anchored in the Shannon Estuary on 12 January. Watson, Monks, Costello and Koprivica had entered Ireland separately after 6 January. On 12 January, all four were arrested at Meenogahane pier in Co Kerry after collecting the drugs from the vessel and dropping them at Carrigaholt pier in Co Clare. Examination of their seized phones led gardaí to identify the MV Royal. A Revenue and Customs team, working alongside gardaí, boarded the ship on 15 January and arrested Lao; Pangahin and Ampo were taken into custody two days later.

All seven pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs between 18 December 2024 and 15 January 2025.

Encrypted EncroChat phones seized from the men revealed that Lao, Pangahin and Ampo were each to receive Philippine pesos equivalent to €138,558 if the operation succeeded. Gardaí also uncovered a WhatsApp group involving a figure known as "Emaar Boss", who used a Finnish SIM card and claimed to be based in Dubai. This individual was directing the three crew members aboard the MV Royal and coordinating their rendezvous with the landing cell.

The four UK-based men were in contact with a handler using the pseudonym "Albert", who operated with an Argentinian SIM card. A further figure, identified in communications as "Danny Greene", sent the landing cell the GPS coordinates of the MV Royal on 9 January as the ship moved up the west coast of Ireland. Detective Inspector Boyce told the court that messages from Costello to "Danny Greene" demonstrated "hierarchical powers in charge of these cells". Greene had also instructed the men to "dump all electrics" after the operation to prevent any link to the drugs being traced through their phones.

Ms Justice Karen O'Connor described the operation as a sophisticated international drugs cartel scheme involving considerable planning, extensive funding and careful recruitment, with connections spanning Dubai, Afghanistan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The encrypted devices used by those involved were, she said, "the blue riband" of criminal security.

The judge added that the availability of drugs is "a scourge on society" fuelled by the worst forms of criminality, and said it was impossible to estimate the harm that quantity of cocaine would have caused. She noted that while all seven men were caught in the act, their guilty pleas were significant given that a trial would have been complex and lengthy — the sentencing hearing alone, held after the admissions of guilt, took three days.

In outlining individual circumstances, the court heard that Costello and Watson both had maritime experience. Monks is a former British soldier who suffers from PTSD following service in Afghanistan and Iraq; the court considered him at a high risk of reoffending. Costello also suffers from PTSD and was assessed as a high reoffending risk. Watson, recruited partly due to a drug debt and his knowledge of boats, is attending school and working while in custody and is regarded as a moderate risk.

Koprivica, a father of two with no prior convictions, was described as having a strong work ethic and being engaged in Red Cross training in prison. However, the EncroChat device was found in his pocket and he was identified as the conduit between the two cells, which contributed to his receiving the longest sentence of twelve years.

Lao, who worked as an ordinary seaman for nine years, was said to hold the lowest rank on the ship. He has no previous convictions and is described as an enhanced prisoner engaged in prison work.

Source: RTE