TV series to revisit high-seas drug seizure involving Athlone air ambulance

One of the biggest drug seizures in the State, which involved the deployment of the helicopter used by the Athlone Air Ambulance service, will feature in a new RTÉ series starting on Monday.

BUSTED is a new three-part documentary that brings viewers inside some of the state's most dramatic and high-profile anti-drug operations.

Beginning on Monday, November 2, at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, the brand new series features a daring high-seas boarding operation of the MV Matthew, involving 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €157 million.

The AW139 Athlone Air Ambulance helicopter was redeployed as a military helicopter as part of the operation on September 26, 2023, by the elite Army Ranger Wing.

The RTÉ series uses real-time footage and first-hand accounts to tell the story.

Packed with high-stakes operations, compelling testimony and extraordinary archive footage, BUSTED offers a fascinating insight into the cat-and-mouse game between international drug traffickers and the Irish authorities determined to stop them.