“A clear instruction about zero tolerance has been given. Constant checks are being done. In that way, there are certain results every week and I am sure that we will eradicate this thing from the Croatian Army,” the minister told Nova TV.
He said this was not a new problem and that no one wanted to tackle it seriously until now.
The latest case was discovered on Monday during extraordinary testing at Lora Naval Base in Split as part of the month of combating addiction.
It was not the first time that cocaine was discovered among members of the special forces command and Banožić said the whole situation worried him.
“As soon as you have any form of addiction in the environment, of course, it’s not healthy and as such, it can’t be part of the Croatian Army, as a moral message to society as well as for the development of Croatian soldiers in the system.”
Earlier this month, police discovered five kilos of marijuana in the family house of an active serviceman in Dalmatia.
Asked if the drugs were for personal use or if this was something bigger, the minister said “there are certain conclusions based on the investigation done by the military criminal police that it’s a larger quantity, just as the marijuana case we had last week. It seems there were five kilos. It suggests that it was not only for personal consumption.”
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