Irish special forces storm cargo ship suspected of drug trafficking

Irish special forces have stormed a Panamanian cargo ship suspected of carrying significant amounts of drugs in a major operation off the southeast coast of Ireland.

Members of the highly trained Army Ranger Wing descended by fast rope from a helicopter onto the ship, which became the focal point of a multi-agency operation that began on Sunday.

The co-ordinated response from the Irish Naval Service and Army Ranger Wing also involved customs officers and the Irish police's national drugs and organised crime unit.

The agencies said the seized MV Matthew is a Panamanian-registered bulk cargo vessel originating in South America. It was intercepted by the Army Ranger Wing and detained in the early hours of Tuesday.

The agencies said a "significant quantity" of suspected drugs was found on board the cargo ship.

The Army Ranger Wing boarded the ship after the Naval Service's patrol vessel, the LE William Butler Yeats, fired warning shots in its direction.

Two helicopters and two planes were also involved in the operation after the Irish Air Corps and Naval Service had been tracking the container ship for a number of days.

In a statement, the Defence Forces said: "A specialist team from the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) then deployed by helicopter onto the MV Matthew via fast rope insertion in challenging conditions."

After the ship was made safe, the Garda units (Irish police) and customs officers boarded the vessel, alongside the naval service, which escorted the ship to an Irish port where it would be detained for a detailed search and investigation.

Armed members of the Army Ranger Wing were seen on board alongside the ship's crew members and other Defence Forces personnel.

Three men, aged 60, 50 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of organised crime offences and detained at garda stations in Wexford.

In a joint statement, Revenue and An Garda Siochana said: "The cargo vessel will now be the subject of a detailed examination by Revenue Customs and An Garda Siochana."

Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, commended the efforts of all personnel involved in the operation, saying: "I would like to personally commend the courage, discipline and professionalism of all personnel involved in this successful operation."

He said the multi-agency operation demonstrates the interoperability of the Defence Forces, underlining the "unique capability that we bring to the defence of the state".

He added: "The significant intelligence-led planning by the joint task force enabled the co-ordination and execution of this complex multi-agency operation.

"This operation demonstrated the importance of all services of the Defence Forces and their ability to operate in the most challenging of conditions."

The major multi-agency operation followed an alert after a separate boat ran aground off the east coast.

The Irish Coast Guard said it received a distress call from a vessel in difficulty off the coast of Co Wexford at about 22:10 on Sunday.