Man jailed over €21.6m cocaine seizure in Foynes

A 36-year-old Bulgarian man who was in full control of the shipment and concealment of over €21.6 million worth of cocaine, seized on a bulk carrier docked in Foynes, Co Limerick last December, has been given a ten year jail sentence.

Kamen Petkov was an able seaman who was one of 18 crew on board the MV Verila which docked at Foynes Port on 19 December 2023, when customs officers discovered 308kgs of cocaine hidden onboard.

It was made up of 12 bales with lifejackets and beacon transmitters attached, which were due to be dumped near Glin pier as the ship entered the Shannon estuary.

Petkov was arrested and made admissions to gardaí about how he turned a blind eye to the drugs being loaded onto the bulk carrier in Brazil, before it voyaged first to Canada and then across the Atlantic onto Foynes.

He hid the drugs in an air-conditioned room in the ship and was in contact with the suppliers about how he was to dump the drugs into the estuary at a pick-up point identified by co-ordinates on a mobile phone given to him.

Petkov also recruited another person to assist in this endeavour.

However, he became concerned when there was no one at the planned pick up point and abandoned the drop off and hid the drugs again.

Petkov was due to received €150,000 for his work in this enterprise.

Sentencing him at Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Colin Daly said he was satisfied a ten-year sentence was appropriate given the huge quantity and value of the drugs involved, as well Petkov assisting in their movement and concealment across continents.

Judge Daly also considered the harm that could have been done, and given the large quantity of drugs involved he had no doubt thousands of lives would have been affected.

He found Petkov was facilitating organised crime internationally for a significant reward.

Given the enormous magnitude of the drugs involved he was not satisfied to impose a sentence of less than ten years, backdated to 22 December last when Petkov was first taken into custody.

Petkov was convicted of a charge of importing a quantity of controlled drugs - in excess of a value of €13,000 at Foynes port on 19 December 2023, contrary to Section 15 B of the Misuse of Drugs Act.