In this July 2, 2012 file photo, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat moves in the Persian Gulf near an oil tanker. (VAHID SALEMI / AP)
TEHRAN – The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a foreign oil tanker carrying more than 11 million liters of smuggled fuel in the country's southern waters, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday.
The smuggled fuel cargo on board is worth $6.87 million, Tasnim quoted Hormuzgan province's Chief Judge Mojtaba Qahremani as saying.
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The tanker's captain and crew members have been detained, Qahremani said, adding the other vessels that helped load the smuggled fuel onto the tanker will also be prosecuted.
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With the government subsidy on fuel prices in Iran, smuggling fuel out of the country is a lucrative racket. Over the past few months, Iranian naval forces have seized a large number of ships with smuggled fuel on board.