Cumali Ozgen jailed for 20 years for cocaine trafficking

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Cumali Ozgen was jailed for 20 years for cocaine possession for sale or supply at the Special Criminal Court on 4 July 2025. The cocaine was seized from the MV Matthew after it was boarded off the Cork coast in September 2023.

The court reduced Ozgen’s headline sentence of 30 years to 20 years, taking account of his guilty plea and other mitigating factors. It found his role was the most serious among the eight men, citing his close involvement with the organised crime group and his progress reports about the operation.

The court also identified the scale and value of the cocaine and the organised group behind the operation as aggravating factors. The other seven men received prison sentences ranging from 13½ to 18 years.