Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province Mojtaba Ghahremani made the announcement on Saturday, saying that following the intelligence activities of the fifth naval zone of the IRGC, a vessel carrying 42,000 litres of smuggled fuel has been seized in the Persian Gulf waters.
The four crews of the vessel were also detained and handed over to the judiciary officials of the province, he added.
Recently on April 24, 14 and 9, IRGC Navy seized three foreign vessels carrying 200,000 liters, 250,000 liters and 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf respectively.
The incidents came after a series of seizures of smugglers' 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.
MNA/IRN84752112