Coast guard discovered large stash of cannabis on sailing boat

A search on a sailboat that had to be towed to safety off the southern Aegean island of Nisyros Friday after running into mechanical problems turned up 700 kilograms of unprocessed cannabis.

A Malta-flagged vessel alerted the coast guard to the Turkish-flagged wooden boat which appeared to be adrift on Thursday night, prompting an immediate response from a patrol boat as well as a private craft, whose crews secured the boat until it was towed to Nisyros the following morning.

It was there that officers made the discovery while checking the boat’s engine and cargo. Three men who were on board the boat have been arrested and identified as foreign nationals.