Overview
- The three Filipino crew members — Hanz Pangahin, Christopher Ampo and Feljon Lao — each received 10.5 years, with UK-based Miljan Koprivica jailed for 12 years, Gary Monks for 10, and Conor Costello and Ryan Watson for 10.5.
- Investigators said more than 600kg of cocaine worth about €42m travelled from the Amazon on the Maltese-flagged MV Royal in 24 bags secured at the front of the ship.
- Gardaí arrested the landing cell on 12 January 2025 on a rigid inflatable boat at Meenogahane pier after a drop to Carrigaholt, and Revenue officers boarded the MV Royal on 15 January to detain the transport crew.
- Phone analysis recovered EncroChat and WhatsApp exchanges showing promised payments to the crew and instructions from figures using the aliases Emaar Boss, Albert and Danny Greene with foreign SIM cards.
- Ms Justice Karen O’Connor described the operation as a sophisticated cartel enterprise and said significant sentences were needed to deter the use of Ireland’s coastline for drug importation.