THE French Navy managed to save 10 tonnes of cannabis from the flames after the Syrian crew of the Tanzanian-flagged 1,530 dwt Luna-S set fire to 20 tons of the contraband drug in the Mediterranean south of Sardinia.
French navy saves 10 tonnes of cannabis as crew fails to burn evidence
THE French Navy managed to save 10 tonnes of cannabis from the flames after the Syrian crew of the Tanzanian-flagged 1,530 dwt Luna-S set fire to 20 tons of the contraband drug in the Mediterranean south of Sardinia.
"To our knowledge, this haul is the biggest ever seized by the French state in the Mediterranean. It's an exceptional take," said a senior French customs official.
Pulling alongside the Luna-S, the French Navy, aided by Algerian counterparts, began the task of tackling the fire, which took several hours to put out.
"It was an act of clearly prepared sabotage," the official said, adding that the crew did not put up any resistance when the Luna-S was boarded.
The ship was towed into Toulon and its eight-man crew was taken into custody, where they face 10 years in prison.
This is the third cargo ship caught transporting tonnes cannabis in the western Mediterranean in the past six months, the others being the Adam in April and the Gold Star, which were taken by the Italian Coast Guard.