Dramatic footage of armed raid on ’cocaine boat’ nets €140m of drugs bound for Ireland

In scenes unprecedented off the coast of Ireland, the Naval Service opened fire yesterday as the Army Ranger Wing stormed a ship as part of a major drugs probe. We revealed how warning shots were fired as ARW units were flown from their base to the ship off the southeast coast by helicopter. Our photographs showed assault rifle-toting ARW operators on the MV Matthew as they escorted the cargo ship into Cork harbour last night – following their daring heli-borne operation earlier yesterday that saw them seize control of the freighter. The captain of the ship – which refused to comply with a Naval Service order to stop at the height of yesterday’s drama – was arrested and was being held at a Garda station in Waterford last night. The captain of the ship was arrested and was being held at a Garda station in Waterford last night. He is being held under anti-drugs legislation and can be held for up to seven days – along with two men rescued from a trawler off the coast of Wexford late on Sunday night. Gardai last night said they believed the Matthew contained a “significant amount” of drugs – but a full examination of the ship’s cargo will start as early as this morning. __________________________________________________ Have you downloaded the Irish Mirror app? - Search for Irish Mirror in the Google Play store: - Search for Irish Mirror in the App Store if you’re on iOs: SUBSCRIBE to other Irish Mirror social channels: - TWITTER | - INSTAGRAM | - FACEBOOK | - WEBSITE | - YOUTUBE | You can get daily news updates straight to your inbox via our daily newsletter - sign up here: GET IN TOUCH WITH THE IRISH MIRROR - Email: news@ - Got a story? Call us on 353 1 868 8600