Foreign vessel detained in major drug bust |18 April 2016

The NDEA (National Drugs Enforcement Agency) and the Seychelles Coastguard’s major search and arrest operation at sea that was carried out over a two-day period has culminated in the arrival at Port Victoria of an Iranian registered dhow in the early hours of yesterday.

On board were eleven Iranian nationals and a detachment of NDEA and Coastguard personnel. The boat was detained and its crew arrested after it entered Seychelles territorial waters during the early hours of April 16, 2016. Preliminary estimates of the amount of drugs on board have been revised pending a full audit and search that is ongoing. So far some 98.5kg have been recovered. The exact content of the drugs will not be established pending analysis, but are believed to contain opiates in different forms.

The ship was detained as a result of a joint operation mounted between the NDEA and the Coastguard following analysis of intelligence gathered in collaboration with regional partners. On analysis of the intelligence an operation was planned and a joint boarding party set to sea in a number of vessels on April 15, 2016.

The operation to recover the ship and its crew lasted for more than 36 hours. After the boat was observed entering the territorial waters a decision was made to detain it. Following a preliminary search a quantity of drugs were discovered, after which it was decided to escort the boat to Port Victoria for further investigations and searches.

A major Investigation is underway and it is anticipated that members of the crew will be brought before the courts tomorrow to answer charges in connection with the matter.