A Bulgarian man was remanded in custody on Friday after pleading guilty to the possession of over €21m worth of cocaine which was located on board a ship which had docked at Foynes Port in County Limerick last year.
The massive haul, with an estimated value of €21,604,891 proved to be the largest drug seizure ever in Limerick and also one of the biggest in the history of the state.
36-year-old Bulgarian national Kamen Petkov, who was arrested by officials on board the ship admitted three charges before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on Friday.
Petkov, admitted a count of importing cocaine via Foynes Port on December 19th, 2023. He also admitted one count of possessing the drug for sale or supply, as well as one count of possession.
Barrister Mark Nicholas acknowledged how his client had fully accepted that the find represented an “enormous amount” of cocaine. Petkov was remanded in custody to appear again before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on October 14th for a date to be set for sentencing.
The craft, The Verila, a large grain carrier registered as Maltese was searched by customs and gardaí as part of a joint security operation targeting widespread drugs importation into Ireland in December.
They seized some 300 kilos of cocaine on board. Of the six men arrested by gardaí on December 19th last, four of the half dozen have since been released without charge, while Petkov and another man were brought before the courts and charged as part of the ongoing investigation.
