https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41384827.htmlApril 29,2024 irish Times
High-powered speedboats being used for drug smuggling off Irish coast . A drug running boat that was seized during the drugs bust operation by Royal Navy warship HMS Trent , issued on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Picture: British Ministry of Defence/PA.
Custom-made, high-powered narco speedboats — which killed police officers in Spain this year — are being used in drug smuggling operations off the Irish coast.
Two Spanish police officers were killed when a high-powered speedboat smashed through a police boat which was intercepting a drug trafficking operation earlier this year. Eight people were subsequently arrested.
Detectives from West Cork travelled to Spain earlier this month to share intelligence and collaborate on plans to intercept international drug smuggling operations. They are also due to visit Lisbon in the coming weeks to collaborate with Portuguese police and anti-drug smuggling organisation MAOC(N). Custom-built rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) are designed with a deepened hull to hold extra product in the front of the boat for drug traffickers and organised crime gangs. An extra fuel-holding area is also built into the hull so the ship can stay fuelled at sea for longer. They can also carry multiple high-powered engines.
These narco-boats also sometimes carry large drums of extra fuel which can be used and then cast out to be replaced with bales of drugs when picking up product.
These boats are now seen in drug smuggling operations across Europe.
A garda source said: "Little teams of these mercenaries will pick up the product and slip off into the darkness again for a price. They’ll move as quickly as they can, crossing borders to a safe haven.”
Ireland is “a major stepping stone” from drug gangs into Europe, they said.
“We’re on the main thoroughfare. Ireland is the main stop after the Azores from South America.
“So other countries will help Ireland when they can, pass on information. They know that it is a major stepping stone for Europe at the moment, especially when so much is publicised about our lack of resources to police it — by the navy or ourselves — and those highlighted facts don't go unnoticed. People are watching. It’s literally a free run-in."
A custom-made, high-powered RIB has been intercepted by gardaí, and unconfirmed reports from the public have been made of other potential sightings of these vessels.
The boats can be made in Portugal, sent to Holland, and moved onwards to countries such as Ireland, a source said.
Earlier this month, dramatic footage of a boat chase was released by Spanish police after officers chased a narco-boat and seized large quantities of cocaine and cannabis.
Spain's Guardia Civil arrested 63 people after officers seized more than 12,000 kilos of cannabis and 630 kilos of cocaine along the Andalusian coast and the Guadalquivir river.
