Jamie Harbron jailed for 13½ years over attempted cocaine transfer

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

Jamie Harbron was sentenced to 13½ years in prison for attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply. He and Vitaliy Lapa had pleaded guilty to attempting to take the drugs from the MV Matthew between 21 and 25 September 2023.

The Special Criminal Court heard Harbron was a deck hand on the Castlemore, which was meant to meet the MV Matthew. After the Castlemore ran aground off the Wexford coast, the Dubai-based organisers removed it from their group chat and told the MV Matthew crew they would find another boat. Detective Superintendent Keith Halley agreed this showed Harbron and Lapa were “completely expendable”.

The court heard Harbron had told gardaí he was promised that €10,000 would be wiped from a €20,000 drug debt. In mitigation, his lawyers cited his guilty plea and the hardship of serving a sentence abroad. The sentencing report said he had nine previous convictions, including two drug offences.