TIRANA, April 26 – The Italian Coast Guard said it blocked a speedboat in the waters of Salento with over a ton of marijuana on board on Friday, while the two Albanian nationals driving it were arrested.
The operation was carried out by the Italian Marine Departments, while it was coordinated locally by Frontex – the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
According to Italian sources, the speedboat came from international waters and was moving fast towards the Italian coast.
Police said that, as in many other occasions, these kind of speedboats have escaped an Italian guard’s attempt to capture them and, while being pursuited, traffickers dumped part of the narcotics’ cargo at sea.
The quantity then found by patrol vessels included 71 large packages of about 1.5 tons. According to the Italian police, if the quantity would be distributed to the criminal market, traffickers would benefit approximately 15 million euros.
“The 10-meter-long speedboat, equipped with two powerful external engines, was transported to the port of Santa Maria di Leuca and confiscated, while two Albanian smugglers were stopped for international drug trafficking,” Italian authorities stated.
