DRUGS WORTH MILLIONS SEIZED OFF SCOTS COAST

Customs board German vessel

A Major drugs haul with a street value of several million pounds has been
seized by customs officers who intercepted a boat off the North Coast of
Scotland.

The German tug Emshorn was boarded late Tuesday after being shadowed
through the Fair Isle Channel by the Customs cutter Seeker.

The 28-metre tug was escorted into Wick harbour early yesterday, where the
outer quay was cordoned off as a forensic team moved in.

The quayside was yesterday bristling with Customs and Police officers who
began the painstaking process of searching the vessel and recovering the
drugs.

Divers and specially-trained dogs were also brought in.

It is thought the tug was carrying cannabis resin. A Customs spokesman said
they would not know the full quantity until sometime today.

UNDISCOVERED

An overnight guard was placed on the Emshorn and work was expected to
resume this morning.

The tug, based in Kiel in northern Germany, sailed from the Continent
several days ago and is understood to have been bound for an undisclosed
British destination.

She was tracked throughout her journey and more than 30 Custom officers
from Aberdeen took part in Operation Scalpay.

The operation was run by the Customs' Glasgow-based National Investigation
Service, backed up by the Scottish Crime Squad and Northern Constabulary.

Customs and Excise Assistant Chief Investigation Officer John Clifford
said: "This is an ongoing operation and we are continuing several inquiries
in the UK and abroad.

"It's too early to predict the value of the haul but I can say it will run
into many millions of pounds."

SEIZURE

Four German men in their 30s and 40s were questioned by Customs officers in
Wick. Last night, a spokesman for the Customs National Investigation
Service in London said: "Four men have been charged and will appear in Wick
court on Thursday.

It is the third major drugs seizure in Wick in the past two years.

Operation Balvenie, one of the most complex Customs operations mounted in
Scotland, came to climax in July, 1996, when the 50ft. ketch Isolda
rendezvoused with a former lifeboat, the Ocean Jubilee, east of Wick.

The Ocean Jubilee was intercepted by the Customs cutter Sentinel 16 miles
from the Caithness port, Customs officer Alistair Souter was killed after
being crushed between the two vessels during the boarding.

The boat was found to contain three tonnes of cannabis and eight men were
eventually jailed for their part in the smuggling operation.

An estimated ukp-10 million worth of cannabis resin was recovered from a
German yacht intercepted off Shetland last September.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski