Iran�s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has seized a vessel carrying thousands of liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf.

The head of the public relations department of the second naval zone of the IRGC Colonel Gholam Hossein Hosseini announced on Friday that the ship, smuggling 250,000 liters of fuel, had been confiscated by the IRGC personnel of the naval zone.

�During the seizure, seven of the ship�s crew members were detained and would remain in custody until the completion of investigation and the legal proceedings,� Hosseini said, adding that the ship and its crew would be handed over to competent authorities during the legal process.

The IRGC�s official referred to countering fuel smuggling as one of the important missions of the IRGC�s Navy and said, �This is our top priority.� He said the IRGC force keeps streamlined monitoring of movements in the region.

On April 9, Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the Justice Department of Iran�s southern province of Hormozgan, said the IRGC Navy forces had seized a foreign vessel carrying 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel in Parsian County, south of Hormozgan.

Ghahramani said 11 foreign crew members were detained, but he provided no details on the nationality of the confiscated vessel.

The incidents came after a series of seizures of smuggler vessels by Iranian Navy forces in the sea lanes serving the Persian Gulf, where a large portion of the world�s oil is produced and shipped.

 

 

By MEHR�