site.btaUPDATED Vessel Verila Released by Irish Authorities

The Bulgarian-owned Malta-flagged bulk carrier Verila, on board of which about 300 kilograms of cocaine were found, has been released by the authorities in Ireland and will sail from Foynes Port, the shipowner, Navigation Maritime Bulgare (NMB), said on Wednesday.

Later in the day, the company said, quoted by Bulgarian National Television, that the ship had left the port with a new crew. NMB did not specify the destination. 

In a written statement to the media in Varna, the company's management thanked the Irish investigating authorities for their swift and effective action in identifying the guilty parties. The company added that it will continue to cooperate with the investigation in the future so that the perpetrators of the crime can be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The company intends to take parallel legal action against all those found and proven to be involved in this serious offence.

According to the The Irish Times, two men have been remanded in custody after they were charged in connection with the seizure of EUR 21 million worth of cocaine found by customers officers on board a bulk carrier ship that came into the Shannon Estuary on Tuesday.

Bulgarian nationals Kamen Petkov (35) and Nikola Yordanov Penchev (32), both crew members aboard the MV Verila, a Maltese-registered but Bulgarian-managed ship, were brought amid tight security to a special sitting of Limerick District Court on Sunday afternoon.

The men were each charged with two offences: possession of cocaine, and possession of cocaine for sale or supply, at Foynes Port on December 19.