Spanish crime gang used an Irish trawler to land €850,000 of cannabis

€850,000 of cannabis that was seized in Dingle last year was smuggled into the country by a Spanish crime gang using an Irish trawler.At Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Monday Ignacio Goyeneche with an address in San Tando, Spain, and Lisa Basire of Scanlon’s Cottage, Ballyhea were jailed for their part in the massive drugs seizure in Dingle last July.Cannabis, worth €850,000 was found by gardaí in early morning raids in different locations in the Dingle area on July 8 last. The majority was found at Lisa Basire’s bedsit, the rest in Mr Goyeneche’s car.
Both pleaded guilty to ‘possession for sale or supply’ of the drugs Judge Carroll Moran sentenced Ignacio Goyeneche to seven years in prison and Lisa Basire to three years. In the course of the trial, details emerged of how the huge haul was brought into Ireland with the assistance of a major Spanish crime figure and Irish smugglers. After the haul was uncovered, thanks to an anonymous tip, Ignacio Goyeneche told gardaí how the massive consignment had been brought into the country. The Spaniard, an unemployed fisherman who lived in Dingle 18 years ago, was a key figure in the operation which began in Spain where the drugs were provided by a major Spanish crime figure. Ignacio Goyeneche said he watched as 72 kilos of cannabis was stashed in an Irish owned and operated trawler, which then sailed from northern Spain to Bantry in Cork. According to Goyeneche the drugs were successfully landed in the Bantry area in early July 2008. Once the shipment was safely ashore, Ignacio Goyeneche said he helped break up the drugs and transport them to Dingle where the majority, 65 kilos worth €785,000, was stashed in hidden compartments under a bed in the home of Lisa Basire in Ballyhea. The rest, 50 bales worth €76,000, was hidden behind panels in the boot of Mr Goyeneche’s Volvo car. Gardaí said Mr Goyeneche had refused to name the Spanish crime figure who supplied the drugs or the Irish fisherman who helped smuggle the drugs. Goyeneche said he was afraid to name the Spanish crime figure whom he described only as “a heavy.” The Kerry coastline has long been known as a haven for smugglers. The sheer scale of the waters and coastline involved, coupled with the many bays and inlets of Kerry and west Cork, has made the work of gardai, customs and the Navy extremely difficult. Even a recent US Drug Enforcement Agency Report raised concerns that the Kerry and Cork coast has become a major European drugs gateway. Meanwhile, English woman Lisa Basire, who was jailed for three years this week for her part in last summer’s €850,000 cannabis haul in Dingle, was described in court as a loner who made no profit whatsoever from the deal. Miss Basire, originally from London, spent her 38th birthday in Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to possessing €785,000 worth of cannabis at Scanlons Cottage, Ballyhea on July 8 2008. Gardaí at the trial said they believed Lisa Basire when she said she had no part in importing the drugs, was not a drug dealer and had not benefited financially in any way from the drugs.