TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has detained a number of vessels in the southeast and south of Iran carrying smuggled fuel.

The commander of the IRGC Navy’s Imam Ali Base in Chabahar said his forces have seized three hauls of smuggled fuel that amounted to 150,000 liters, Tasnim reported. 

Captain Mohammad Nozari said the vessels were planned to smuggle the fuel into a neighboring country, noting that all people involved in the act, including Iranian and foreign nationals, have been arrested.

Meanwhile, Colonel Gholamhossein Hosseini, head of the Media Office of the Second Field of the IRGC Navy, told Fars News that the IRGC forces have seized a foreign vessel carrying 200,000 litters of contraband fuel in the north of the Persian Gulf. 

The colonel said eight crew members of the vessel were handed over to judicial officials in Bushehr. 

“The fight against smuggling, especially fuel smuggling, is one of the important priorities of the IRGC Navy which is being pursued in order to support national production and the dynamism of the country's economy,” he said.

Colonel Hosseini warned that the waters of the Persian Gulf will not be secure for smugglers.