Nearly a ton of marijuana found on speedboat in Greece

Greek authorities say they have seized nearly a ton of marijuana on an inflatable speedboat that was abandoned after a chase in the west of the country.

The coast guard says the seizure followed a tip-off. A coast guard launch located and pursued the 10-meter boat yesterday, but the only man on board managed to beach the craft and escape on foot near the town of Messolonghi.

A coast guard statement today said a total 920 kilograms of marijuana was found packaged on the speedboat.

It was unclear where the drugs had come from or where they were heading. Western Greece is on a major smuggling route for Albanian-grown marijuana headed for western Europe.