Drug smugglers are using donkeys to take packets of weed from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) into Croatia, Split police have said.

Although most of the drugs smuggled into Croatia from BH arrive the traditional way – hidden in automobiles crossing at smaller border points – there is no lack of creativity among the dealers, the Croatian daily Jutarnji List writes.

The donkeys have been adopted by the drug smugglers as they are trained to navigate the inhospitable mountain terrain between Herzegovina and Croatia.

According to anonymous sources at the Split police department, most of the traffickers that supply the Dalmatian coast between Split and Dubrovnik get their shipments from eastern Herzegovina. Whereas earlier the Bosnian markets relied on drugs from Croatia, the tables have turned in recent years.

Split officers say marijuana is the number one drug in terms of its accessibility in Split, but exposure to cocaine has grown in recent years, not only amongst the jet-setters but also the youth who like to go out. The city has not seen an increase in flash, crack, or other "new drugs though," the source said.