Iranian Saeid Hassani (39) and Filipino Harold Estoesta (31) were on board MV Matthew carrying drugs worth €157 million
Two men have pleaded guilty one week into their Special Criminal Court trial, which heard they were part of an international drug trafficking operation that resulted in the largest seizure of cocaine in Irish history.
Iranian Saeid Hassani (39) and Filipino Harold Estoesta (31) on Tuesday pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered ship that was carrying 2.2 tonnes of the drug, worth an estimated €157 million, when it was boarded and taken over by members of the Irish Army Rangers.
Hassani and Estoesta were the last of a group of eight defendants charged in relation to the seizure to plead guilty, with six co-accused previously entering pleas before their trial at the three-judge, non-jury court.
The charge to which Hassani and Estoesta pleaded states that between September 24th and September 26th, 2023, at a location outside the State, on board the MV Matthew, they had cocaine for sale or supply in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Act and that the market value of the drug exceeded €13,000.
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