The MV Matthew, owned by a Dubai-based company, was raided at gunpoint by Ireland’s elite Army Ranger Wing in rough seas off the Cork coast in September 2023.
Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, received 18 years.
The captain, Iranian Soheil Jelveh, 51, was given 17.5 years.
Ukrainian Vitaliy Vlasoi, 32, was sentenced to 16.5 years.
Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, 62, received 14.5 years.
UK national Jamie Harbron was sentenced to 13.5 years.
Their headline sentences were partially reduced due to guilty pleas and other mitigating factors.
The men pleaded guilty to their involvement in the operation after 2.25 tonnes of cocaine were seized from the Panamanian-registered MV Matthew — a 190-metre-long, 32-metre-wide bulk cargo ship — during a dramatic airborne raid by armed Defence Forces personnel.
A transnational organised crime group with “immense capabilities, unlimited resources and a global reach” directed the operation, Detective Superintendent Keith Halley told the Special Criminal Court during sentencing.
He said a cell structure within the cartel meant the operation could continue even if one part was compromised. One of the cells was based in Dubai, and the investigation into the network is “very much ongoing.”
All crew members told gardaí they had flown to Dubai for interviews before travelling to South America to board the vessel.
Det Supt Halley also revealed “a major Iranian nexus” in the operation.
Those who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Matthew between 24 and 26 September 2023 were:
Meanwhile, Vitaliy Lapa (62, Ukrainian, of Rudenka, Repina Street, Berdyansk) and Jamie Harbron (31, of South Avenue, Billingham, UK) pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023.
The sentences were delivered in the Special Criminal Court by Ms Justice Melanie Greally, Judge Sarah Berkeley, and Judge Grainne Malone.
