The smugglers intended to transfer the fuel shipment to one of the countries in the Persian Gulf region, Mojtaba Ghahremani said, adding, "But in an intelligence operation, the coast guards of Qeshm island identified and seized the fuel shipment."
During the operation, nine of the ship’s crew members were detained, he said, adding that the ship and its crew would be handed over to judiciary authorities.
Recently on May 18, a foreign ship, smuggling 550,000 liters of fuel, was confiscated by the Iranian navy forces of the naval zone.
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.
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