Iran’s IRGC seizes vessel carrying 11 million litres of fuel

The vessel and crew’s nationalities weren't introduced, however the worth of its cargo amounted to $6.6m, an official stated.

The IRGC has lately ramped up its efforts in opposition to smuggling and infrequently pronounces seizures of cargo carried by overseas vessels [File: Ali Haider/EPA]

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized the crew and cargo of a overseas ship that was carrying 11 million litres (2.9m gallons) of smuggled gasoline, in keeping with a neighborhood judiciary official.

The judiciary chief of the southern province of Hormozgan, Mojtaba Ghahremani, introduced on Monday that the IRGC’s naval pressure confiscated the unnamed vessel within the waters of the Gulf.

“The captain and crew of this overseas tanker are additionally detained as investigations and authorized procedures are being accomplished,” he stated in a video message launched by the semi-official Tasnim information web site, whereas flanked by IRGC and judiciary personnel on the ship’s deck.

The nationality of the vessel or its crew was not introduced, however Ghahremani stated the worth of its cargo amounted to 2.2 trillion rials (about $6.6m).

Tasnim additionally launched a clip that confirmed the smuggled gasoline on the tanker.

“All vessels which have delivered gasoline to the violating tanker may also be topic to prosecution,” the judiciary official stated.

Ghahremani stated the arrested smugglers will probably be slapped with a monetary penalty of as much as 10 occasions the worth of the confiscated cargo along with receiving jail sentences, whereas the vessel will probably be seized in favour of the Iranian authorities.

He additionally described the bust as a “main blow” to organised gasoline smuggling operations in Iran’s southern waters, which is believed to be profitable attributable to Iran’s allocation of gasoline subsidies and the nation’s low-cost foreign money.

The IRGC has lately ramped up its efforts in opposition to smuggling and from, time to time, pronounces seizures of cargo carried by overseas vessels whereas principally refraining from disclosing which international locations the vessels and crew belong to.

However the amount of the confiscated gasoline introduced on Monday gave the impression to be bigger than standard. By comparability, one other vessel that was introduced seized final month was stated to be carrying 757,000 litres (200,000 gallons) of gasoline.