‘If you have only one vessel then it’s almost impossible to patrol’

THE former head of the EU Drugs Interception Agency said the lack of personnel to operate naval ships ‘is not lost’ on organised crime groups planning logistics for drug importations.

Concerns had been expressed that the Irish Naval Service’s only operational asset, LÉ George Bernard Shaw was unavailable last week as it was making its way to Dun Laoghaire harbour for the St Patrick’s Festival. Naval personnel did arrive earlier this week to help search for drugs.

Michael O’Sullivan, former assistant commissioner in An Garda Síochána and former director of the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics)  told The Southern Star that these operators look for the ‘line of least resistance’.

‘In the past the Irish Navy has always been there and have tracked lots of vessels which have subsequently been seized. There were four ships operating in 2021, and now we have one, LÉ George Bernard Shaw. The tragedy is that we have the ships but not the personnel to man them,’ said Michael.

‘It’s all about assets and if you have only one ship and you have to travel a certain distance to reach a vessel transporting drugs, then the seizure just won’t happen.’

Michael said geographically Ireland is in a very strategic position because it covers the routes coming into northern Europe.

‘All the drugs are coming up from South America and it’s obvious that Ireland is strategically placed and people tend to bring a shipment towards Ireland or into Ireland. History has shown that this is the way it has been.’

Michael said that drug traffickers planning logistics would certainly consider Ireland and it has worked in the past for many.

‘As recent as 2021, we could call on four assets at any one time from the Irish Navy. It’s all about assets if you get intelligence and it’s about getting a ship there as quickly as you can, if none can get there no seizures will take place.’

He added that the Irish Navy have always been keen, professional and willing to deploy when requested but lack of operating vessels is hampering this.

‘The Irish Navy has the responsibility for patrolling an area nine and half times the size of Ireland and even if you have four navy vessels it’s never going to be enough to patrol. When you have one vessel then it’s almost impossible and we have less capabilities than we had three years ago. This isn’t lost on the people planning logistics.’

He said the problems with the Irish Naval Service didn’t happen overnight either and has been coming down the line for a while.

A spokesperson for the Defence Forces said they received a request from An Garda Síochána for assistance and assessed what the most appropriate assistance would be, as is standard.

‘It was decided that the Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) was the most suitable asset to deploy.’