THE Jamaican-registered ship seized off the west coast last month was on its way to collect £30 million worth of cannabis from a Pakistani container ship off the west coast of Africa, gardai believe.
The Garda's Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has seized the ship, the Aegir, valued at £500,000, because it is suspected of having been involved in drug-trafficking when it ran into difficulties off the Aran Islands on February 11th.
The bureau received an interim order seizing the ship last week and is to seek leave from the High Court to dispose of it later this week.
A senior member of the bureau's civilian legal team has been appointed receiver to dispose of the ship and its equipment.
It is the first time a ship has been seized under the Proceeds of Crime legislation, introduced last year after the murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin.
The State yesterday deported five crew members of the Aegir who had been held under drug-trafficking legislation for questioning in Galway to where the ship was towed.
After some made admissions, gardai had hoped they could be prosecuted here. However, the case against them was rejected by the Director of Public Prosecutions and they were ordered to be deported.
No drugs or contraband were found on the ship. However, it is understood that some of the crew admitted they were sailing to the Cape Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa, to rendezvous with another ship carrying 30,000 kilos of cannabis from Pakistan. The drugs were to be taken to Canada.
The Aegir began its journey in Rotterdam on January 11th and sailed into the Baltic Sea but then turned back and sailed around Scotland. It was heading south of the west coast of Ireland when it ran into severe storms.
The ship was heavily laden with fuel and supplies and suffered flooding and engine failure. It is understood it had enough supplies for three months at sea.