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Now, the agency that coordinates the European response to illegal drug trafficking says too many shipments of cocaine are getting through because of a shortage of boats to intercept them. The Maritime Analysis and Operation Center, which is a collaboration between eight EU member states and the UK, says as many as 100 suspect ships weren't stopped or searched last year.
Panorama's Darrett McIntyre reports. If you look on the the ground, there is a lot of little pots for using cocaine. The UK's habit is getting worse. Since 2011, cocaine related deaths have risen more than 10-fold. It tells me that if you want to have a war on drugs, you're losing and losing badly.
Some drug traffickers are using Ireland as a back door to the UK, as the country has the lowest defense spending in Europe. The narcotic super highway comes right across the Atlantic, and one of the first countries it reaches is Ireland. So geographically, we're highly exposed. Our territorial waters are a free-for-all, really. It's like the the Wild West out there.
One drug bust in 2023 shows the scale of the problem. Traffickers based in Dubai bought their own cargo ship, the MV Matthew, for around £10 million. On the surface, it looked legitimate, but its sole purpose was trafficking drugs. Its only cargo, cocaine. When it reached Irish waters, the traffickers sent a twler to collect the drugs. But the twler ran aground in a storm, and its crew called the Coast Guard to save them.
The Irish Navy had only one ship at sea. It fired warning shots when the MV Matthew refused to change direction. "Please do not fire at us. My crew now panicking, crying. Over." "You have no cause to be afraid. All I ask is that you proceed to Cork Harbor. Over." The crew ignored the order, so Irish Rangers used their only available helicopter and dropped onto the deck in high winds. 2.2 tons of cocaine were recovered, and eight men have been jailed.
But the organization that tracks transatlantic shipments says Europe needs to do more, as 100 vessels suspected of trafficking drugs weren't even stopped last year. "We have intelligence of the vessel that's crossing the Atlantic. The problem right now we are mainly facing is not a lack of intelligence. It's a lack of interception vessels."
The Irish government says it is increasing defense spending by 55% and that it maintains a continuous presence and vigilance at sea. Dara McIntyre, BBC News.