Extra chairs were needed to accommodate the volume of defendants and their various interpreters in connection with the biggest cocaine seizure in the history of the State, in a packed Special Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Seven men were due to stand trial this week in connection with the 2.25 tonnes of cocaine seized from a Panamanian registered bulk cargo ship, the MV Matthew off the Cork coast in September 2023.
Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, aged 32, Vitaliy Vlasoi, aged 32, and Vitaliy Lapa, aged 61; Iranians Soheil Jelveh, aged 51, and Saeid Hassani, aged 39; Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, aged 49, and Filipino Harold Estoesta, aged 31, were before the three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal…