Report by PMOI/MEK
May 8, 2019 – The Maldivian police say an Iranian ship carrying narcotics was intercepted in Maldivian waters.
In a statement issued by the police, the ship was identified as a vessel that routinely traffics drug in that area. The police say the operation to intercept the ship was carried out in coordination with Maldivian National Defense Force and based on information provided to the authorities.
The vessel was intercepted 126 nautical miles west of Baa Atoll, an island located north of the Maldives and southwest of India.
Seven of the boat's crew members were apprehended and large amounts of drugs were confiscated from the vessel, according to Maldivian authorities.
Efforts to bring the vessel to the Male' region for further investigations are ongoing, according to police.
Additionally, further information regarding the operation and the narcotic substances discovered would be released at a later date, authorities added.
Maldivian Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed recently stated that police operations were increased in response to a surge in drug trafficking via marine routes.
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Bulgarian custom authorities on April 19 also intercepted more than 288 kilograms of heroin embedded in a truck originated from Iran.
News agencies cited Bulgarian custom authorities saying the shipment was the largest amount of smuggled narcotics to Bulgaria since the beginning of this year.
A brief look at the data published by intelligence agencies of different countries discovering shipments of illicit drugs linked to the Iranian regime unveils the nefarious nature of drug networks linked to the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The U.S. State Department has recently designated the IRGC as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO).
