From The Weed Street Journal archive. This article was published before James Buddsey took over the site and is queued for review and update.
On September 9th we received information regarding a cargo ship, the GOLD STAR, that caught fire off the coast of Malta, burning roughly 30 tons of cannabis and leaving 9 people on board the ship. The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) were alerted of the fire at sea by an emergency message, which was responded to by dispatching three of its own ships, an inshore patrol vessel, a fast interceptor, and an offshore patrol vessel, accompanied by helicopter aerial attention. Those on board the ship were picked up by an Italian Guardia di Finanza vessel that was close-by. The cargo vessel, which flew the flag of Tanzania, has since been handed over to Italian authorities and taken under tow to Sicily for further investigation.
Just a day after Italian authorities settled the flames of the burning GOLD STAR a shockingly similar incident occurred. Due to high suspicion of drug trafficking the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean received authorization to intercept and board the vessel, the LUNA-S, which coincidentally was also flying the flag of Tanzania.
Crew members of the LUNA-S reportedly set fire to ship upon seeing the French boarding team approach. Those crew members were evacuated while French sailors, accompanied by an Algerian rescue team, contained the fire. Authorities confirmed their suspicion of drug trafficking, though the work was slowed by smoke and debris on board.
