Italian coastal authorities on Thursday seized more than 22 tons of cannabis from a ship that was sailing near Sicily in what’s been called the most significant drug bust in the region in a decade.
“This is the most important operation in the Mediterranean Sea in the past 10 years,” said Cristino Alemanno with Italy’s coast guard, in a Reuters report. The coastal force had monitored the ship for two days. The vessel came from Morocco, one of the world’s largest hashish producers, Reuters reported.
When a request for information about its contents and history made to officials in Comoros, where the ship is registered, went unanswered, Italian coastal authorities escorted the ship back to the port of Marsala and boarded it.
They discovered hashish resin in burlap bags, Reuters reported.
Six crew members who hailed from Syria were arrested.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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