A man being tried in connection with the seizure of €440m worth of cocaine in Cork has denied involvement with the gang.
The prosecution has alleged that 45-year-old Martin Wanden was an integral part of the drugs operation in west Cork last July.
But Mr Wanden has denied that he was a member of the drugs gang, or that he drove the boat that collected the drugs at sea.
During Mr Wanden's third day in the witness box, prosecuting senior counsel Tom Creed put a series of allegations to him, which the defendant strenuously denied.
Mr Wanden has blamed a man he calls Charlie Goldie for getting him involved in the case, but accepts that Mr Goldie does not appear in any of the CCTV footage collected by gardaí, which features Mr Wanden in west Cork for more than a week prior to the drugs seizure.
Mr Creed put it to Mr Wanden that Mr Goldie does not exist and that he is an invention by Mr Wanden. The prosecution accused Mr Wanden of lying and alleged his story was a fabrication.
Mr Creed claimed Mr Wanden was an integral part of the drugs operation. He claimed Mr Wanden had driven the boat that collected the 62 bales of cocaine at sea from a catamaran called Lucky Day, which had brought them across the Atlantic.
Mr Wanden denied all of this. The trial continues.
