Courts / Wexford / Report

Cocaine ship's officer part of effort to disguise vessel's true position, trial hears

Summary

The Special Criminal Court trial of Saeid Hassani and Harold Estoesta, who are alleged to have possessed 2.25 tonnes of cocaine on the MV Matthew, continued with evidence regarding the vessel's navigation systems. Both defendants, who pleaded not guilty to three charges including possession for supply and participation in a criminal organisation, are accused of disguising the ship's true position. Expert witness Gary Delaney testified that the vessel's Automatic Identification System (AIS) broadcasts were manipulated, including a period where the ship reported a simulated position off Guyana while actually being off Venezuela. Delaney noted that messages in a WhatsApp group indicated awareness of these efforts to conceal the vessel's route. The prosecution alleges the defendants directed the transfer of drugs to a fishing boat. While Hassani and Estoesta face trial before Justice Melanie Greally, four co-accused—Mykhailo Gavryk, Vitaliy Vlasoi, Soheil Jelveh, and Cumali Ozgen—previously pleaded guilty to similar offences connected to the seizure. The trial was adjourned and is scheduled to continue next Tuesday.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Cocaine ship's officer part of effort to disguise vessel's true position, trial hears. Charges or matters: the three charges; similar offences connected to the seizure. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• September 2023 Hearing Or Sentence
• September 23, 2023 Other
• September 24 Incident
• August 2023 Other
• August 22 Other
• September 7 Other
• September 24, 2023 Incident
• 2017 to 2023 Other
• 2025-02-13 Publication

Why: He explained that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) broadcasts the position of vessels to neighbouring ships, while the Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) records the ship's route. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report