Three Britons appeared at a special court sitting at the weekend charged over the 1.7 tonne cocaine haul seized from a yacht off the coast of Ireland.

The men, Philip Doo (52) and David Mufford(44), both from Devon, and 42-year-old Christopher Wiggins, who has been living in Spain’s Costa del Sol, were charged with attempting to import the drugs, valued at more than €650m.

The trio were arrested after Irish navy, Gardai and customs swooped last Wednesday on the 60ft ocean-going boat, Dances With Waves, 170 miles off the west Cork coast.

The boat set sail from the Caribbean a month ago and was loaded with 75 bales of cocaine.

Europe’s leading anti-drug trafficking agency Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC-N) tracked the yacht across the Atlantic before Irish authorities moved in.

After two days questioning Garda drugs squad officers charged the men and brought them before the special night sitting of Clonakilty District Court, west Cork.

The court was told all three have addresses in Britain and Spain. All three have been unemployed over recent months and were said to be of very modest means.

They were charged with the same offence under Section 34 of the Republic’s Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act — possession of drugs with intent to import. The court heard none of the men spoke when Gardai formally charged them.

State Solicitor Malachy Boohig told the court he was objecting to bail for all three defendants and Judge James McNulty remanded them in custody to appear before Kinsale District Court on Thursday.

The record-breaking haul could total 1.7 tonnes and depending on purity it could be worth as much as €700m (£572m).