Smugglers, pirates, the IRA and drugs gangs – have Ireland’s coasts ever truly been policed?
With more than 3,000km of coastline to guard, along with the increasing amounts of cocaine being stockpiled and exported from South America to a high-demand market in Europe, Ireland continues to be a prime target for international crime groups.
The waters off the Irish coast, particularly the south-west, have attracted criminality since the 1600s when pirates plundered ships travelling between the Americas and Europe.
In more recent history, the IRA’s campaign during the Troubles saw increased arms smuggling from the United States by criminals there sympathetic to the group’s aims.
The largest weapons seizure in Irish history came in 1984 when the Irish Navy intercepted a fishing boat, the Marita Ann, and recovered seven tonnes of guns and explosives.
The cache had recently been transferred from the Valhalla ship, which sailed from Boston two weeks earlier, the arsenal supplied by infamous mobster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger.
Authorities uncovered the major arms smuggling plot after receiving information from an IRA commander turned informant.
Over the past four decades, smuggling along the Irish coast has predominantly focused on large-scale drug consignments, with unpredictable weather conditions posing the greatest threat to smugglers.
A suspected cocaine smuggling operation uncovered this week is believed to have been foiled in part
The waters off the coast of Ireland are seen as a key route for international drug smugglers.
because the gang were unable to retrieve a cocaine drop off the Cork coast due to weather conditions.
On other occasions, the ineptitude of criminals has led to the importations being unsuccessful.
In July 2007, some €450m worth of cocaine was seized off the Cork coast when a rigid inflatable boat overturned in Dunlough Bay after a smuggler accidentally put diesel in a petrol engine.
A year later the Naval Service vessel LE Niamh recovered €400m, while in 2014 the same ship was involved in seizing €350m in exceptionally pure cocaine, both off the Cork coast.
Multi-million-euro drug seizures off the coastline slowed until last year when more than two tonnes of cocaine was seized on board the MV Matthew: the largest consignment of drugs recovered in Irish policing history.
That large-scale drug seizure followed a trend of similar high-value operations across Europe involving the Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre (MAOC), which focuses on anti-narcotics operations.
Last month alone, the MAOC was involved in the seizure of seven tonnes of cocaine in the Atlantic with the use of French naval ships, while on February 10 Spanish authorities seized over four tonnes of the drug onboard a go-fast vessel.
The increased international co-operation between law enforcement agencies, including gardaí, in Europe and the Americas has been a major factor in increased high-value captures.
The operations have also had a direct impact on cocaine prices, with value rising by approximately 25pc in the last six months.
However, the increase in seizures has also coincided with the rise in cocaine production and usage.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly recently told the Policing Authority that a scaling back of cocaine eradication programmes in South America has resulted in larger amounts being produced and a stockpiling of cocaine ready for exportation.
The greater production efforts coincide with increased consumption rates, with Europe having overtaken North America for cocaine usage.
Historically, Ireland has been seen as more of a gateway hub for drug importation, with shipments travelling through the island before being moved on to Britain and mainland Europe.
The recent seizure of €33m worth of crystal meth is alleged to have been destined for Australia.
There is, however, increasing demand here for cocaine in particular.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris recently said that Ireland is seen as an affluent and prosperous society, making it a “real target”.
He also said that the biggest issue for the force, in comparison to 20 years ago, was how international organised crime has become.
Often the figureheads orchestrating multi-million-euro drug shipments are well removed from the operations here and residing outside of the Garda’s jurisdiction.
While the Kinahan crime group are suspected of continuing to provide routes and financial backing for shipments from their base in the Middle East, gardaí suspect that other players have stepped into the fold.
The significant coastline that has to be guarded by an under-resourced navy, and a high demand for drugs both here and across Europe, means that Ireland has and will continue to be a key location for international crime groups.