Greece says Spanish seize two tonnes of cocaine on fishing boat
ATHENS (AFP) - A Greek-owned fishing boat carrying two tonnes of cocaine was seized Monday by Spanish authorities in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Greek merchant marine ministry.
Flying a Tonga Islands flag, the 33-meter (109 feet) Irene was seized 600 nautical miles from the Canary Islands and 470 from Mauritania, according to the ministry, which said the cocaine was worth more than 150 million euros (160 dollars).
Arrested on board were two Greeks, including one of the owners, Minodoros Vezyrtzis, two Russians and one Italian, who were being brought to the Canary Islands by the Spanish.
Vezyrtzis had already been arrested in 1999 by Italian authorities as a member of the crew of a boat transporting 20 tonnes of cannabis under a Honduran flag.