Trawler at centre of drugs case stuck on sandbank

THE Castletownbere-registered trawler that was allegedly used as part of an international drugs trafficking operation is still stuck on the sandbank off the Wexford coast.

A person experienced in the salvage trade spoke to The Southern Star and said the vessel, The Castlemore, is sinking further into the sand. With each passing day, the vessel is said to be moving deeper and deeper and, at the time of going to press, is reported to be buried up to its wheelhouse. RNLI crews – who went to the aid of the two men on board the fishing vessel after it went aground on the night of Sunday September 24th – threw a tow rope in the hope of lifting the vessel off the sandbank but they were unable to move it.

Torrential rain, strong winds and high seas during Storm Agnes complicated matters, causing the vessel to burrow even further in the mire. With the weather continuing to be unsettled for much of the week, the vessel is, at this stage, considered to be a hazard to navigation, and still too difficult to board and search.

The purchase of The Castlemore by a UK national and a man from Eastern Europe was completed just days before it left Castletownbere Harbour on Friday September 22nd. It is alleged that it was to rendezvous with the Panamanian-registered cargo ship the MV Matthew, on which €157m worth of cocaine was seized.

The drugs haul – the biggest seizure in the history of the state – involved a dramatic multi-agency operation, which was the first of its kind in Irish waters.