SER's Bronagh Gately Features In New Documentary On MV Matthew Drug Bust

A South East Radio journalist who was among the first reporters at the scene of a major drugs operation off the county’s coast is featuring in a new RTÉ documentary airing tonight.

Our own Brónagh Gately appears in the first episode of BUSTED, a three-part series exploring some of Ireland’s biggest and most significant drug seizures.

The documentary revisits the September 2023 operation which resulted in the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated €157 million, in what was the largest drugs seizure in the history of the State.

The operation began after a smaller trawler, the Castlemore, ran aground off Blackwater, County Wexford, on September 24th. Two men on board were rescued by the Coast Guard during the night.

Brónagh was on the beach the following morning as the story unfolded, with Gardaí, security personnel and media crews arriving in the area amid growing speculation about the operation. Rumours that drugs had been dumped at sea also attracted curious onlookers to nearby beaches.

In BUSTED, she shares her experience of covering the story from a local media perspective, as events developed into a major international drugs investigation.

The series also features unprecedented access, archive footage and first-hand accounts from those involved in the operation, including the dramatic high-seas boarding of the cargo ship MV Matthew by the Army Ranger Wing.

The vessel was carrying the cocaine shipment and was intercepted following a joint operation involving Gardaí, Revenue Customs, the Naval Service and Defence Forces.

Produced by Cable Rock Pictures for RTÉ, BUSTED examines the scale of international drug trafficking networks and the efforts of Irish authorities to disrupt them.

The first episode airs tonight, Monday, November 2nd, at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.