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Croatian Police Finds 3 Kilos Cocaine in Cruise Ship Engine Room

According to Croatian authorities, police and customs officers boarded the Italian cruise ship MSC Poesia where they found 3 kg of cocaine hidden in the engine room.

Massive Police operation code name "Porat 2015'' was conducted yesterday in the Croatian port city of Dubrovnik. The police surrounded the city blocking all exits and stopping suspicious cars and busses in search for drugs. On a previous tipoff police boarded the cruise ship MSC Poesia where they found 3 kilos of high quality cocaine.

Official information say that based on the initial findings of the police officers of the Police Administration of Dubrovnik indicated the existence of organized groups of Croatian and Montenegrin citizens who are engaged in smuggling and resale of large quantities of cocaine for illegal drug market.

The operation resulted in the arrest of four people, three Croatian and one Montenegrin citizen responsible for organized criminal group  for cocaine smuggling.

Yesterday in the area of Dubrovnik a citizen of Croatia and one citizen of Montenegro where arrested for possession of  1 kg cocaine. According to Croatian authorities, police and customs officers boarded the Italian cruise ship MSC Poesia where they found 3 kg of cocaine hidden in the engine room.

As stated in the briefing the operation conducted on the cruise ship, anchored in the port of Dubrovnik the police chief explained that without a warrant they could not enter into the territory of another country, in this case of Panama, so involvement of the Customs officers was necessary. To  a surprise of the ship staff, security services, the captain and crew, the drug was found in the part of the ship to which passengers have no access. This raised the suspicion that a part of the crew or officers were involved in the drug smuggling.

MSC Poesia was sailing from Istanbul where police suspects the cocaine was loaded to the ship, with stops in Dubrovnik and Venice as final destination.

In 2014 Police in Funchal found 132 pounds cocaine on the same ship MSC Poesia