Eight MV Matthew defendants jailed for cocaine trafficking

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

Eight men were jailed at the Special Criminal Court on 4 July 2025 for cocaine offences, receiving terms of 13.5 to 20 years.

They had pleaded guilty to offences arising from the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine worth more than €157 million from the MV Matthew.

The court treated the scale and value of the drugs as aggravating factors and considered the men’s guilty pleas and other mitigation.