Three British men are being held after they were found on board the yacht
A yacht carrying a substantial amount of cocaine was seized off the coast of Cork, Ireland, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The 60ft vessel, crewed by three British from West Yorkshire, is believed to have had more than £60m worth of the drug on board.
The three suspects are being questioned by the Garda, while a fourth person has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import cocaine.
Irish Defence Forces intercepted the vessel, Makayabella, in “challenging conditions” between 200 and 300 miles south west of Mizen Head.
A spokesperson said that two support boats, L.E. NIAMH and L.E. ROISIN: “positively identified a suspect vessel in a covert surveillance operation”.
“The decision was made to deploy an armed Naval boarding party, which resulted in the successful detention by Revenue’s Customs Service of the yacht, suspected contraband and the crew of three.”
After forces boarded and secured the yacht, navy vessels escorted it to Haulbowline naval base, where officials will assess the drugs.
The operation was based on intelligence provided by the National Crime Agency in the UK and the French customs service DNRED via the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics, based in Lisbon.
Image credit: Irish Defence Forces