10 years for three who attempted to smuggle €400m of cocaine into Ireland
Three men who were caught carrying €400 million worth of cocaine past the coast of Cork in a yacht from Venezuela were all jailed today for 10 years.
Judge Patrick J Moran imposed that sentence on Philip Doo (aged 52), of Brixham, Devon, David Mufford (aged 45) of Torquay, Devon, and Christopher Wiggins (aged 43) of Estepona, Malaga, Spain, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Judge Moran said: “One can only shudder when one thinks of the havoc that could have been caused to the citizens of the United Kingdom – young people in particular and their families if this consignment had gone through. From your point of view it was easy money.”
Detective Sergeant Fergal Foley said the crime was detected by a joint task force of An Garda Síochána, Customs and Excise and the Irish Navy working in conjunction with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre in Portugal and the Organised Crime Agency in the UK.
Judge Moran praised the work of all those agencies.
Det. Sgt Foley said that the yacht – Dances with Waves – was boarded by Naval officers braving stormy seas 150 miles south west of Mizen Head and in darkness on November 3 2008.
They found that the 65-foot yacht had been damaged in the journey taken over the previous four weeks and that specially fitted plastic tanks had overflowed causing a large amount of diesel to flood into the living area.
Crucially, they also located 75 bales of cocaine of 70 per cent purity with a conservative valuation of €400m on the street.
The three men were all connected in an extended family background and all three had in common their poor financial circumstances which prompted them to carry the drugs for an international crime gang. Each man was to be paid a six-figure sum, the largest amount being paid to Doo, the skipper and most experienced sailor.
Judge Moran said they were all in it together and he would not differentiate between them.
