Croatia police display drugs seized in two raids

Croatian police on Tuesday displayed hundreds of pounds of drugs they said were seized in two separate operations last year in a southern Adriatic Sea port close to the famous resort of Dubrovnik.

The discovery last October in the port of Ploce of nearly 220 kilograms (482 pounds) of heroin on a ship from South America was the biggest ever in Croatia, police said.

"This is the biggest seizure of heroin ever in Republic of Croatia," said the chief of Dubrovnik Police, Drazen Rastovic.

The heroin was hidden in metal packages found in the ship's cargo container and was meant for distribution in western Europe, they said at a press conference.

In November, divers found 61 kilograms (136 pounds) of cocaine in a metal container attached with magnets to the bottom of another ship from South America.

Police said total estimated value of the seized drugs was 17 million euros.