The two Bulgarian sailors from the ship "Verila", who were arrested in Ireland in December 2023 while trying to import a huge shipment of cocaine worth over 21 million euros, have already been convicted and will each serve 10 years in prison. 36-year-old Kamen Petkov and 34-year-old Nikola Penchev pleaded guilty before the Irish court, NOVA reported.
"The defendant was in control of such a large quantity of drugs that it is impossible not to conclude that thousands of lives would have been affected by such a volume of drugs," Judge Colin Daly said when sentencing Kamen Petkov in December 2024.
The investigation showed that Petkov was the main culprit in loading the 300-kilogram shipment of cocaine. He contacted people in Brazil who loaded the drugs on board while the crew slept. Initially, the shipment was hidden under beds in unused cabins, and later packed with life jackets to prevent it from sinking when it was planned to be dumped overboard in Irish waters.
Nikola Penchev worked as the second engineer on the "Verila" and is described in the trial as an accomplice. According to the evidence, he joined the crew in Montreal, Canada, and was initially unaware of the drugs. Petkov later offered him €10,000 to help him store and dispose of the cocaine.
The minimum sentence for a similar crime in Ireland is at least 13 years in prison, but due to the cooperation of the two Bulgarians in uncovering the other participants in the criminal scheme and their full confessions, the sentences were reduced to 10 years.
"The defendant's early admission of guilt and cooperation with the Garda investigation allowed it to proceed with greater speed and efficiency," the judge noted in his reasoning.
According to the Irish authorities, the seized shipment was of exceptional purity and had a potential value of five times the authorities' initial estimate. Detective Constable Adrian Cahill of Limerick's Drug Unit testified in court that "the cocaine seized was pure cocaine, with a potential street value of five times that," estimating it at €105 million.
The ship "Verila", owned by the "Bulgarian Navy", was released by Irish authorities and returned to normal operations after investigators determined that the owner company was not involved in drug trafficking.