Kieran O'Dea told gardaí that he nearly cried when customs officers at Dublin Airport opened his bag and he saw it was full of bags of cannabis

The seizure in Limerick came as a result of a joint ‘intelligence-led’ operation.

The €21.6 million total cocaine haul was smuggled on board the MV Verila cargo ship, which travelled from Brazil to Canada and onto Foynes Port, Co Limerick,

The court heard that the Brazilian national had been offered $10,000 Brazilian real, the equivalent of about €2,000, in exchange for transporting the drugs.

Ten men remain in custody this morning over an investigation into a suspected drug smuggling operation off west Cork