Seven men admit €42 million cocaine import plot as gardaí detail ‘organised cells’ in court

Ryan Dunne

Seven men who were operating in “structured and organised” cells under the control of others conspired to import up to 600kg of cocaine with an estimated value of up to €42 million into Ireland, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

The non-jury, three-court court on Thursday heard that three of the men were Filipinos on board a ship containing the drugs that travelled from the Amazon and docked off the coast of Co Clare.

Four others, with addresses in the UK, were part of “a landing cell” that was intended to collect the drugs via an inflatable boat and transport them to a location in Co Kerry.

The seven men are Miljan Koprivica (46) of Bollin Drive, Manchester; Conor Costello (31) of Earhart Park, Madamsbank Road, Derry in Northern Ireland; Gary Monks (40) of Amulree Place, Glasgow, Scotland; Ryan Watson (32), of Mailerbeg Gardens, Modiesburn, Glasgow; and three Filipino men, Hanz Pangahin (36), Christopher Ampo (44), and Feljon Lao (29).

All seven entered guilty pleas that on dates between December 18th, 2024, and January 15th, 2025, both within and outside the State, they did conspire with others to import into the State drugs in excess of €13,000.

The offence is contrary to section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

A garda Detective Inspector gave evidence to counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, that the seven defendants operated as “structured and organised cells” under the overarching control of persons controlling them on the ground.

He said that a ship called the MV Royal was docked in the Amazon from December 14th to December 27th, 2024, during which time Pangahin, Ampo and Lao loaded on board between 400 and 600kg of suspected cocaine, with an estimated value of €28 million to €42 million.

The Detective Inspector said this was transported to Irish shores, with the ship coming to anchor on January 12th in the Shannon Estuary.

As the ship was sailing to Irish shores, Watson, Monks, Costello and Koprivica arrived at separate times into the State on dates after January 6th.

He said that on January 12th, these men were arrested on “a RHIB” or “RIB” – a rigid inflatable boat – after successfully completing the pick-up of the cocaine from the MV Royal and dropping it to another location. The Det Insp said that the landing crew was arrested at Meenogahane pier in Co Kerry.

After these four were arrested, their phones were examined, which led gardaí to identify the MV Royal.

The Det Insp said that on January 15th, a team from Customs and Revenue working with the gardaí boarded the ship and arrested Lao, with Pangahin and Ampo arrested on January 17th.

He said the cocaine was found in 24 bags secured in the front of the ship, which sailed under a Maltese flag.

The Det Insp told the court that analysis of mobile phones seized from the men showed that Lao, Pangahin and Ampo were each to be paid Philippine pesos equivalent to the sum of €138,558, if the operation was successful.

He said that there was a WhatsApp group involving someone known as “Emaar Boss”, who had a Finnish SIM card and claimed to be based in Dubai. The Det Insp said that this person was controlling the “cell” of three men on board the MV Royal, issuing instructions as to their arrangements to meet Watson, Monks, Costello and Koprivica in the RHIB.

He told the court that these four men, who were “the landing cell”, were communicating with a person in charge known as “Albert”, who had an Argentinian SIM card.

“Everything they were doing was clearly under instruction,” said the Det Insp, adding that “Albert” was a pseudonym. He also said that someone known as “Danny Greene” was issuing instructions to the landing cell, sending them the coordinates of the MV Royal on January 9th, as the ship was sailing up the west coast of Ireland.

The Det Insp said that messages from Costello to “Danny Greene” showed there were “hierarchical powers in charge of these cells”. He said that “EncroChat” devices were used by the group, which are encrypted phones used for coordinating and planning criminal activities, including drugs and money laundering.

The sentence hearing continues on Thursday before Ms Justice Karen O’Connor, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Fiona Lydon.