THE Spanish Tax Agency (Hacienda) has detained the merchant ship Lady Boss.
It was suspected of possible drug trafficking after it was spotted several days earlier by the Tax Agency surveillance plane in the Strait of Gibraltar, an area noted for drugs loading by traffickers.
Last week the Maritime bulletin reported that the Customs and Tax Agency teams intercepted the vessel 32 miles south of Almeria and took her to Almeria’s port where it was inspected. 600 bales of hashish which totaled up to 18 tons, were discovered. The vessel and 13 crew members, including 11 Ukrainians and 2 Bulgarians, were placed under arrest.
The ship was sailing under the flag of the Comoros, and the detention took place in international waters near the port of Almeria. The department head of the Consular Service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, Vasyl Kyrylych, said that the Ukrainian consulate is in constant contact with the detainees’ lawyers and the Spanish law enforcement agencies in this case. He added that the case would be transferred to the court of the first instance of the city of Madrid.
