Russian investigators say they have found what appear to be hard drugs on board the Greenpeace ship seized during a protest in the Arctic last month. "During a search of the ship, drugs (apparently poppy straw and morphine) were confiscated," Russia's Investigative Committee said. Poppy straw, or raw opium, can be used to produce morphine or heroin. Greenpeace said in a statement that any suggestion of illegal drugs being found was a "smear". "We can only assume the Russian authorities are referring to the medical supplies that our ships are obliged to carry under maritime law," it said. Thirty people are being held on suspicion of "piracy" after activists attempted to scale a Russian oil rig. The head of Greenpeace International, Kumi Naidoo, has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin, offering himself as a guarantee for the detainees. There is widespread international concern for the crew of the Arctic Sunrise, who hail from 18 nations. The Netherlands has demanded the immediate release of the detainees, who are being held in the northern port of Murmansk pending trial, as well as the release of their the Dutch-flagged ship. Six Britons are among those arrested, and UK Foreign Office officials have discussed the case with Russia's ambassador in the UK, it was reported on Wednesday. In its statement, the Investigative Committee said charges against some of the detainees might change in the light of evidence gathered from the ship. Apart from the suspected drugs, "dual-purpose" equipment was found on the Arctic Sunrise, it said, adding that this "could be used not only for ecological purposes".
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