A sixth crew member of the Verilla has been arrested in an investigation into the smuggling of millions of euros worth of cocaine aboard a bulk carrier in Foynes, County Limerick, Irish newspaper The Journal reports.
Five men aged 50, 46, 44, 41 and 35 were arrested on board the ship yesterday. The nationality of the sixth person arrested was not mentioned, but there were 17 Bulgarians and one Ukrainian on board.
The sixth man is 32 years old. All the men are being held by the government's Garda agency in the Limerick area.
They were arrested for an offense related to the importation of drugs, with the law providing for a mandatory "imprisonment" sentence if the shipment is worth more than €13,000.
BGNES recalls that half a ton of cocaine was found on board the "Verila" ship, which traveled under the Maltese flag and was detained in an Irish port.
The ship is owned by the Bulgarian Navy Shipping Company and local authorities are investigating it for alleged drug trafficking. The vessel is for bulk cargo. He was transporting grain from Canada to Ireland. On December 8, it sailed from the Canadian port of Hamilton. /BGNES
