Turkish tip leads to tons of drugs seized off Algeria

By Yusuf Soykan Bal and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - Some 12 tons of marijuana were seized from a ship off Algeria, while eight suspects were arrested on Wednesday upon intelligence from Turkish police, said Turkey’s Interior Ministry.

Turkish teams shared the information with their counterparts in Italy and Spain that a ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Algeria was carrying drugs, the ministry said in a statement.

Acting on the tip, Italian and Spanish teams did a search through the Moldovan-flagged ship, called the ELG.

Eight Ukrainian-origin crew members were also arrested during the operation.

The suspects were later remanded in custody.

*Writing by Sena Guler