site.btaInterior Minister: 500 Kilos of Cocaine Found on Cargo Ship with Bulgarian Crew

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov Thursday said a 500-kilogram consignment of cocaine was discovered on the Verila, a Malta-flagged Bulgarian-owned cargo ship with a Bulgarian crew. Answering a question, Stoyanov confirmed that "there really is such an incident, the crew is made up of 17 Bulgarians and one Ukrainian". Stoyanov said the authorities had been informed that the ship was detained and are waiting for confirmation that the crew is Bulgarian. There is currently very active communication at the level of operational international cooperation and facts are yet to become known, Stoyanov said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel said an investigation was under way and the Foreign Ministry had asked for information.

The Irish Times reported on Wednesday that a consignment of high-grade cocaine with a value of least EUR 20 million was discovered in a search of a cargo ship at Shannon Foynes Port in Limerick on Tuesday.

The ship's owner, Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar) Thursday said it does not hold information from the Irish authorities about the detained Verila. In a position released to the media in Varna (on the Black Sea), Navibulgar said that it is only known that a security operation was being carried out on the ship over suspected involvement in drug trafficking.

"If this is proved in the appropriate due process, it would be a serious crime and a flagrant violation of the values, internal rules, policies and procedures of Navigation Maritime Bulgare, a company with a 131-year history and an impeccable reputation in international merchant shipping," the company said. The management of the company said it would fully cooperate with the competent authorities.