Ireland is awash with cocaine. Our coastline leaves us highly exposed. And the traffickers know it.

In this episode of Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty explores how Ireland became a key gateway for international drug cartels, what’s being done to stop them, and why the crisis keeps escalating.

We hear from former naval commander Eugene Ryan, who led some of the country’s biggest drug interceptions, and Cormac O’Keeffe, security correspondent with the Irish Examiner, on how gangland networks, weak defences, and global cartels are fuelling the trade.

From the MV Matthew to today’s smuggling routes, this episode traces the drug pipeline bringing cocaine from cartel hands to the streets of Ireland and beyond — and asks: are we equipped to stop it?

Guests: Eugene Ryan, former Irish naval commander and MAOC(N) co-founder, and Cormac O’Keeffe, Irish Examiner security correspondent.

📩 Contact the podcast at any time by email to [email protected].