Buffeted by high winds, special forces soldiers leap out of a helicopter and rush down fast-ropes onto the container ship as it sways from side to side in the roiling Irish Sea.In a matter of minutes, they have taken control of the vessel and seized £132million of cocaine - dealing a blow to one of the world's most feared organised crime gangs. The 2023 raid on cartel container ship the MV Matthew by members of the Irish Army Ranger Wing was daring and dramatic. But it was something else too: incredibly rare.While police forces target traffickers on land, the challenge posed by interceptions at sea often requires military assistance. But with just eight ships, of which only two can operate at one time due to a shortage of sailors, the Irish navy poses little threat to drug smugglers. And the helicopters needed to storm ships from the air? Often, their army colleagues can't summon up a single one for anti-narcotics missions. Ireland's weak defences are common knowledge among drug cartels, who are increasingly sending cocaine shipments to its waters in the knowledge they are unlikely to be stopped. Once in Ireland, gangs can move this cocaine across the open border into the north before taking it by ferry to England and Scotland - exploiting a lack of customs checks.