Iranian boat intercepted with drugs

An Iranian boat suspected of drug trafficking in Maldivian territorial waters was seized Monday in a joint operation conducted by the police and the military’s coastguard.

Seven people have been arrested after a large amount of drugs were found on the vessel, which is believed to have been “widely trafficking drugs in this region,” police said.

The coastguard stopped the boat 126 nautical miles west of Baa atoll.

“Work is ongoing to bring the boat to the Malé region for search and checks,” police said late Monday night.

In June last year, more than 100kg of drugs washed ashore in the north after an Iranian vessel ran aground.

In March 2014, around 24kg of heroin was smuggled in a vessel that was registered in Iran. Two Maldivian men were later found guilty and sentenced to life.

Last month, police seized 149kg of heroin and cannabis buried on an uninhabited island in the south. The drugs had been smuggled on a foreign vessel and buried on the Hulhuvaarulu island, according to the police chief.