The captain of a cargo ship caught transporting over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine told a court that he feared he and his family would be killed if he did not follow the instructions given by an organised crime group based in Dubai.
The drugs, valued at over €157 million, were seized during an Irish military operation in September 2023.
At a sentencing hearing in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court on Tuesday, Iranian national Soheil Jelveh, 51, said he was pressured into cooperating with the smuggling operation and claimed he was “captain in name only.”
He said that there was fear on board, and he had to follow orders like the rest of the crew. He also claimed that threats were made against his family, who were in Dubai, if he did not comply.
The MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, was intercepted by Irish authorities as part of a
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