Four men will go on trial today in connection with country's largest ever seizure of 1,500 kilos of cocaine at Dunlough Bay, Co Cork, last July.
Three men went on trial in Cork today on charges relating to the largest ever drugs haul in the history of the state when gardaí and customs recovered cocaine worth €108 million from the sea off the West Cork last summer.
Martin Wanden (45), Joe Daly (41) and Perry Wharrie (48), all originally from England, are each charged with three offences arising from the discovery of over 1,500 kilos of cocaine contained in some 62 bales recovered from the sea near Mizen Head in West Cork last July.
The drugs were recovered in choppy seas by gardaí and customs officers backed up by local cliff and coastal search units from Goleen with assistance from the Irish Coastguard helicopter and both Castletownbere and Baltimore RNLI lifeboats.
Yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Wanden of no fixed abode, Mr Daly from Carrisbrooke Avenue, Bexley, Kent and Mr Wharrie from Pyrles Lane, Loughton, Essex all pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned on the three charges.
All three are charged with possessing of cocaine, possessing of cocaine for sale or supply and possessing more than €13,000 worth of cocaine for sale or supply at Dunlough Bay, Mizen Head, Bantry on July 2nd, 2007.
Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin was told by prosecution counsel, Tom Creed SC, instructed by State Solicitor for West Cork, Malachy Boohig, that the state's case against three men included statements from some 577 witnesses and between 1,200 and 1,300 exhibits.
It is expected the case could last for up to ten weeks.
Judge Ó Donnabháin said that because the case involved gardaí, customs officers, coastguard and lifeboat teams from West Cork, he would warn any poential jurors from West Cork to identify themselves as coming from the area so they could be excluded from trying the case.
A small number of people called to serve on the jury were excused by the judge when they revealed that they had links with the Mizen area and West Cork.
It took 50 minutes to select a jury of nine men and three women after a number of other jurors revealed that they would have difficulty attending a ten week trial because of holiday commitments. The jury was sworn in and the case was adjourned to Monday morning.
