SECURITY IS expected to be tight in Cork today when the trial starts of four Englishmen charged in connection with one of the biggest drugs seizures in the history of the State.
Some €108 million worth of cocaine was recovered off the west Cork coast last summer in the operation
The four – Gerard Hagan (24), Martin Wanden (45), Joe Daly (41) and Perry Wharrie (48), all with addresses in the UK – each face a total of three charges arising from the discovery of 62 bales of cocaine near Mizen Head in west Cork on July 2nd, 2007.
All four men are charged with possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine for sale or supply and possession of more than €13,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply at Dunlough Bay, Mizen Head on July 2nd, 2007.
Mr Hagan, Hollowcroft, Liverpool, Mr Wanden of no fixed abode, Mr Daly, Carrisbrooke Avenue, Bexley, Kent and Mr Wharrie, Pyrles Lane, Loughton, Essex, were first charged at the District Court in Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and Dunmanway last July.
The huge haul of cocaine, which weighed more than 1,500kg, was recovered from Dunlough Bay at the end of the Mizen Peninsula by gardaí and Customs officers assisted by local Coast Guard units, an Irish Coast Guard Sikorski helicopter and both Castletownbere and Baltimore lifeboats. The State’s case against the four men involves statements from over 500 witnesses and it’s expected that more than 300 of these will be called to testify at the trial, which could run for up to eight weeks at the Washington Street Courthouse in Cork.
It is expected that in addition to evidence from gardaí and Customs officers who were involved in the recovery of the narcotics, the trial will also hear evidence from up to 30 witnesses from abroad.
The trial will open at 10.30 this morning with the arraignment of the four men before Judge Seán Ó Donnabhain at Cork Circuit Criminal Court and following this a jury will be empanelled to try the case, which follows an extensive Garda investigation. The State will be represented by Tom Creed SC and Siobhán Langford BL, instructed by State Solicitor for west Cork Malachy Boohig.
Mr Hagan is represented by James O’Mahony SC instructed by solicitor Flor Murphy from Bantry. Mr Wanden is represented by Pauric O’Dwyer SC instructed by Madden Finucane Solicitors, Belfast, while Mr Wharrie is represented by Tim O’Leary SC and Mr Daly is represented by Blaise O’Carroll SC, both instructed by solicitor Michael McVerry from Dundalk.