Pubdate: 17 Feb 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. FRENCH CUSTOMS SEIZE RECORD 20 TONNES OF CANNABIS LILLE, France, Feb 17 (Reuters) - French customs officials said on Wednesday they had seized 20 tonnes of cannabis resin from a boat they boarded in the English Channel, the largest cannabis haul on French territory. The discovery was the second big drugs seizure by French authorities in the past few days after police raiding a suburban Paris warehouse at the weekend and found 1.2 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a disused merry-go-round and a van. The officials said customs officers discovered the cannabis resin concealed in the hold of an ageing fishing vessel, the Nemo, sailing under an Estonian flag with a 14-strong crew, most of them from Russia, Poland and Ukraine. Investigators said they believed the drugs were from Morocco. The boat was heading through the English Channel when it was stopped and boarded by customs officials and ordered into the northern port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski