TIRANA, June 11 - The Italian Coast Guard said it blocked approximately 2.5 tons of marijuana possibly coming from Albania to Italy through sea.

According to the Guardia di Finanza, the persons driving the speedboat managed to escape the police by taking off into the night, in the Brindisi area.

The Lecce Antimafia Directory is investigating on the latest cannabis trafficking case the international criminal rings cooperating in the Brindisi area with Albania’s Southern Vlora area.

Meanwhile, Albanian police said a few days ago it also blocked an amount of around 700 kilograms of cannabis on the shores of the Karaburun Peninsula, about to be sent off by speedboat to Italy.

Most of the Albanian cannabis gets transported to Italy through sea space. Drug trafficking cases increase with the start of tourist season due to the growing number of sailing vehicles between Italy’s and Albania’s coasts and police inability to closely check all of them.