A 19 YEAR OLD Venezuelan woman and a man with an address in the UK have been arrested in Cork and the woman's two year old son placed in the care of the Southern Health Board following the seizure of the Sea Mist, the drug running vessel, in Cork Harbour on Sunday. Both are crew members of the boat, which had sailed from South America and which gardai believe may contain "hundreds of kilos" of cocaine - worth much more than the original estimate of £60 million.
The 7,000 mile voyage ended in Ireland when the vessel was forced to seek shelter in a Force 9 storm. A total of five crew members have been arrested. Initial speculation suggested that the refitted vessel, which originated in Venezuela, was concealing up to 100 kg of cocaine with a street value in excess of £60 million.
At a news conference in Cork yesterday, however, Mr Brendan Mulcahy, a surveyor attached to the Customs and Excise Service, said a "dumb waiter" on the vessel, which had been converted to include special hiding places, was believed to contain hundreds of kilos of the drug. The "dumb waiter shaft" was 14 ft high and the drugs had been packed in 1 kg amounts with plastic and paper wrapping. He added that the exact amount of the haul would not be known to the authorities until such time as a detailed forensic examination had been completed. Mr Mulcahy said that estimates putting the value of the seizure at £60 million were "too low".
If, as suggested, the vessel is found to contain hundreds of kilos of cocaine, its value could run into hundreds of millions of pounds. Even at the lower estimate of £60 million, the weekend seizure was the largest in the State and is being regarded by the Garda, Customs authorities and the Naval Service as a triumph for the new three way co operative approach to the fight against drugs.
At yesterday's news conference it emerged that a combination of bad weather and the alertness of a local resident in the Aghada area of Cork harbour were the factors that led to the vessel being boarded and impounded by the authorities.
Mr Mulcahy said a person in Aghada contacted the Customs and Excise service because he or she was suspicious of the movements of the vessel after it had run for cover to the shelter of Aghada during bad weather.
It is also understood the Sea Mist was experiencing engine trouble. When investigated, it was not flying a flag and its crew gave different accounts of why the vessel was in the area.
After boarding the Sea Mist on Sunday last, the discovery of the cocaine "important not only in European but in world terms" - was made.
It was clear, Mr Mulcahy said that South American drug cartels were targeting Europe and that the drug phenomenon was multi faceted and complex. Very often, when drug runners got into difficulties at sea, crime prevention authorities benefited.
Supt Kieran McGann, of Cobb said at the news conference that the arrest of the Venezuelan woman and the man with an address in the UK at a house in the Blarney Street area of Cork did not mean that there was a Cork connection or involvement with the drug running operation. "We are carrying out a full investigation, but as of now we just don't know," he said.
The man with the UK address was arrested at the house at 9 p.m. on Saturday the woman was arrested at the same house at 8.15 a.m. on Sunday.
The five people in Garda custody in Cork include two male West Indians in their 50s, two men with addresses in the UK in their late 40s or early 50s and the Venezuelan woman.
Under new anti drugs legislation, gardai are entitled to hold the five for seven days.