A man from Fermanagh, aged 37, was among 10 individuals arrested in connection with what Irish authorities suspect was a criminal organisation effort to smuggle a significant amount of drugs off the west Cork coast last week.

The group, ranging in age from their mid-20s to mid-50s, appeared before a special district court session in Bandon, west Cork, on Friday night.

It is understood the Fermanagh man was driving an articulated lorry involved in the incident. 

Among those detained are individuals with addresses in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and the UK, indicating a wide-ranging operation.

Senior Gardaí believe they have dismantled a major international drug smuggling network.

One of the individuals based in the Netherlands has a known history with law enforcement across Europe due to connections with key members of an international drug syndicate.

Several of those arrested are believed to be divers based abroad, raising concerns among Gardaí that drug shipments may have been concealed underwater at specific locations off the southwest coast until deemed safe to bring ashore by the gang.