‘Elaborate operation’: Trucker jailed over €10m of cocaine hidden in lead-lined fuel tank

A lorry driver has been jailed for 10 years after pleading guilty over a €10.5 million cocaine haul at Rosslare Europort.

The drugs were discovered inside a fuel tank of a lorry that had disembarked a ferry from France on October 13th, 2025.

Toni Atanasov (58) from Sofia, Bulgaria, appeared at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court charged with possession of cocaine and possession of the drug for sale and supply.

Judge Cormac Quinn said the seizure was the result of a joint operation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue Customs Service.

The agencies made the seizure following a tip-off about the activities of a Bulgarian organised crime group involving the importation of drugs.

Describing it as a sophisticated operation, the judge said the truck had lead lining attached to the left of the fuel tank in an effort to avoid detection and to avoid spillage on to the drug parcels.

The load in the unit was registered in the Atanasov’s name, who was working for himself, but at the time denied any knowledge of the drugs.

The court heard Atanasov was a married man with two children aged 15 and 10 years.

The man was said to have been offered €4,000 on top of his normal wage of €3,000 to work for a month, but the truck would have to be registered in his name.

“This was an elaborate and sophisticated operation, taking some time to put in place,” the judge said.

“It was quite obvious the drugs were going to be distributed in Ireland.

“I will take into account the accused had no previous convictions, has two young children, had a good working history, and also the letters handed into court.

“The accused had 16 years’ driving experience, but he was acting as a courier at a high level.”

The judge said the headline sentence would be of 15 years. He said he would sentence Atanasov to 10 years in prison backdated to October 13th, 2025, on the sale and supply charge.

He ordered the confiscation of the drugs and said the truck and trailer would be forfeited to the State.

The court heard the truck involved was flagged travelling on the Victoria Seaways from Dunkirk to Rosslare Europort, Co Wexford.

Atanasov was arrested and detained at Wexford Garda station, where he was interviewed seven times.

During interview he said he had been a truck driver for 15 years and this was his third visit to Ireland. He travelled through the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and France before arriving at the Rosslare port.

He confirmed in interview he was aware of an issue with the capacity of the fuel tank, which is where the drugs were stored. He denied knowing the drugs were present.

In a subsequent interview, Atanasov said he was offered employment by an unknown male known to him as “the boss”.

Photographic evidence was shown of the tank being cut, following which packages could be seen in the tank.