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Cocaine wars - the Irish front Ireland correspondent Henry McDonald joins an Irish naval patrol searching for vessels smuggling cocaine from Latin America and west Africa into the Irish Republic, the first drop-off point for drug cartels sending narcotics into Britain and Europe
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Good video
"The Question is not: how far you will take this? The Question is do you possess the constitution to go as far as is needed?" -
Is it my imagination or does the barrel of the 57mm look different?
Interesting to see the boarding party use rigid cuffs too."The dolphins were monkeys that didn't like the land, walked back to the water, went back from the sand." -
+1 Great video link there thanks
Ya rigid cuff are the way forward FMolloy Harbour and Airport Police have been using them for years now..British officer: You're seven minutes late, Mr. Collins.
Michael Collins: You've kept us waiting 700 years. You can have your seven minutes.
[As the British flag comes down]
Michael Collins: So that's what all the bother was about.Comment
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Good vid.Great to see the kit has come on along with the drills.Didnt know the lads had the Taclights for the HK's now.And so thats where all the black covers for the new Lids went
"Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm." ------- Field Marshall Wavell, April 1945.Comment
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That's a matter of opinion. The improvement in subject control is off-set by their considerable bulk & awkwardness, and with respect to both the Airport & Harbour Police they don't use them an awful lot.Originally posted by The Blue Max View Post"The dolphins were monkeys that didn't like the land, walked back to the water, went back from the sand."Comment
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it must be a new barrel but the state of the 20 mm leaves a lot to be desired ..Originally posted by FMolloy View PostComment
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True it is a matter of opnion . I have friends in both the mules and joeys and they all seem to prefer the speedcuff rigids! But saying that new asp hinged cuffs arent to bad either.Originally posted by FMolloy View Post
Dublin Airport Police certainly do use them daily for arrests,effecting searches on dangerous persons or transporting prisoners not so sure about Harbour Police usage.
Cork or Shannon airport would be alot quieter so i would agree with you there.
The equipment the boarding teams have is top! good to see them speaking to team member on his opinion on it. Is that Mondnadonk baton they use or asp?Last edited by The Blue Max; 8 September 2010, 13:46.British officer: You're seven minutes late, Mr. Collins.
Michael Collins: You've kept us waiting 700 years. You can have your seven minutes.
[As the British flag comes down]
Michael Collins: So that's what all the bother was about.Comment
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ASP.Same model issued to Military police and ARW."Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm." ------- Field Marshall Wavell, April 1945.Comment
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A very interesting videoComment
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Completely different barrel, haven't got any info on it yet.Is it my imagination or does the barrel of the 57mm look different?
yeah I remember we used to strip down the sheilds strip and paint them regularly,,but then again you were the leading gunner then and us poor new SG3s were over enthusiastic.....please L/S...can we paint the gun shields..pleasee?the state of the 20 mm leaves a lot to be desired
See the crew has dropped from 72 to 62.....although we often had up to eighty on board in my time.Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safeComment
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Anything to do with the removal of flight operations?Originally posted by hptmurphy View PostComment
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Flight ops crew were not specific to that role and would do other jobs when the A/C was absent. Perhaps the lean manning is more to do with modern engine room monitoring and better optics?
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.Comment
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The Article in full.
Dressed like ninjas, sweating under their balaclavas, brandishing automatic handguns as they kick in ship doors, the boarding unit of the Irish naval vessel LÉ Eithne are on a mission.
As Europe's first line of defence against Colombia's cocaine cartels, the young men and women in their 20s are carrying out mock operations, including scrambling to their inflatable crafts after donning their uniforms - body armour that transforms into a life jacket if they plunge into the treacherous Atlantic - and weaponry.
They also stage a boarding exercise from their inflatables on to the Eithne, storming through the ship's corridors, bursting into berths, providing cover with firearms for those searching the rooms.
With Colombian drug-smuggling networks increasingly targeting the south-west coast of Ireland as a back door for trafficking cocaine into Europe, the Irish navy is playing its part in trying to shut off that gateway.
The overall fleet commander in the Republic, David Barry, says that since a pan-European naval intelligence service was established four years ago, the Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre - Narcotics based in Lisbon, the seven-nation organisation has seized €11bn-worth of drugs, mostly cocaine.
At Haulbowline naval base outside Cork, prior to the Eithne setting sail, Barry says that this example of cross-European co-operation is now being seen as a model across the world for policing the seas in search of drug networks: "The Americans, the South Americans are looking at it as a model of how to do business."
Ireland is "slap bang on the route" between the Caribbean and northern Europe, which is why the cocaine cartels are targeting the Republic's coast, he says.
Recent seizures involving the Irish naval service, Irish customs and the Garda Síochána indicate that the use of isolated places on the Irish Atlantic coastline as "jump-off points" for drug smugglers is growing. Last year the Irish end of the pan-European naval intelligence network seized 1.5 tonnes of cocaine on the yacht Dances with Waves off the south-west coast. The drugs on board were not even destined for Ireland - according to Barry they were due to be shipped on into Britain and northern Europe.
As the Eithne cuts through the choppy waters en route from Cork to Galway on the west coast, the ship passes clusters of islands populated by bird colonies, isolated lighthouses battered by waves, discreet coves and golden beaches. It may be one of the most idyllic shorelines in Europe but for the Eithne's captain, Commander Tom Doyle, it is also a challenging, potentially dangerous environment for his 62-strong crew.
"It is a very rugged coastline and there are areas around it which are very isolated. We have many small islands that are sparsely populated so they make ideal areas to land goods or to try and ship goods into this country. It all lends itself to narcotics being landed in Ireland," says Doyle as one of his trainee cadets scans a series of islands to the west with binoculars.
The ship's captain admits that the danger has increased for his crew as the drug-smuggling routes increase from South America and west Africa. "Generally these operations take place in the hours of darkness and the weather is sometimes very inclement around Ireland. Our personnel who have to get on to vessels have to put up with these conditions while they are not sure what they are about to confront when they board," says Doyle.
The interception at sea of huge cocaine hauls over the past 18 months - one operation led to the seizure of €700m-worth of the drug - is having a lethal impact on land. The capture of huge quantities of cocaine sent to Irish criminals by the Colombian mafia has sparked one of the bloodiest gangland wars in Dublin. One Dublin gangster has reportedly tried to call in drug debts from addicts as well as trying to wipe out rival dealers in a bid to amass enough money to start paying back the feared Colombian cartels.
As the ship continues to monitor maritime traffic while dolphins swim alongside, Doyle says that the area which eight Irish navy vessels are tasked to patrol is enormous: the smugglers have 137,000 square kilometres of Irish territorial waters to hide in.
At the back of the Eithne, the naval "ninjas" strip down after their mini-exercise. Helping them take off helmets, gun belts, flak jackets and wetsuits is a decorated veteran who was awarded the highest honour for gallantry in the Irish defence forces over the storming of a ship that contained €25m-worth of cannabis. Petty Officer Seaman Patrick Kennedy confronted his first group of drug smugglers at sea 17 years ago. He is still searching for the same foe this summer. "Luckily, back in 1993 we were not fired upon but there is always that possibility [today]. You do think about the dangers, but you try to put that to one side and get on and do your job," he says.
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.Comment
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Cocaine wars
Does the 62POB also include the reporter and his sound/camera crew.
The rference to the JTF made no mention of IAC having any role.
Overall footage was good but some of the conclusions of the reporter were naff.Comment
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The AC isn't part of the JTF (that doesn't necessarily mean they are never used in the role).Originally posted by danno View PostComment
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