POLICE SEIZE 241 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE IN PLOMIN PORT

PULA, May 29 (Hina) - The Istria County police on Monday seized 241 kilograms of cocaine which arrived on an Italian ship in the port of Plomin on Friday. The value of the confiscated drugs, with the purity of more than 90 percent, has been estimated at 72 million kuna (DM18 million). The operation aimed at discovering and confiscating the drugs was carried out by Istria County special police forces, County State Attorney's Office, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from Vienna. The Croatian Interior Ministry was informed about the arrival of a ship with a large quantity of drugs by DEA offices in Vienna and Colombia. After it sailed into the Plomin port, the ship 'Grazia Bottiglieri', owned by the Italian shipping company 'Bottiglieri di navigazione' from Naples, was searched by Istria County special police members. Following an extensive search of the 206-metre-long ship, the police found the cocaine in the inside of the ship, packaged in bags. A further investigation showed that the ship had started its journey toward Plomin at the Colombian port of Santa Marta on May 9. According to the County State Attorney, Vlatko Nuic, the drugs arrived from Colombia and most of it was probably intended for the Croatian market. The police still have to investigate who had sent it, what was the role of some 20 crew from Italy and the Philippines in the transaction, and who was to take over and deal the drugs in Croatia. (hina) rml