Raul Tabares Garcia (50) one of 10 men arrested in Cork by gardaí in March 2024
A Spanish national accused of conspiring to smuggle almost €60 million worth of cocaine into Ireland has lost an appeal against a High Court ruling refusing him bail.
“We really agree with the High Court judge that if granted bail, this defendant will not attend his trial,” said Judge Alexander Owens at the Court of Appeal on Thursday as he refused to grant bail to Raul Tabares Garcia (50).
Garcia, of Cadiz in Spain, was one of 10 men arrested by gardaí in March 2024 in the villages of Tragumna and Leap near Skibbereen in west Cork, where a jeep, camper van, articulated truck and rigid inflatable boat were seized as part of the investigation into a suspected drug smuggling operation.
After gardaí intercepted the vehicles, they discovered a large quantity of nautical equipment, including satellite phones, GPS devices, radios, control panels and wetsuits.
