Police find 70 kilos of drugs from Iranian-flagged boat

The police say it found three sacks containing 70 packages of drugs from onboard the Iranian-flagged boat captured from Maldivian territorial waters this week.

The Iranian-flagged boat and Hedheykuri-7 – a local boat which went to collect the drug shipment - were captured from 27.5 nautical miles off the coast of H. A. Thuraakunu in a joint-operation by the Coastguard and the police on Saturday, October 5.

The police, in a statement this Tuesday, announced that both Iranian-flagged boat and Hedheykuri-7 are currently in police custody at K. Dhoonidhoo.

The Iranian-boat arrived at Dhoonidhoo at 2 am, and Hedheykuri-7 arrived at 6:30 am this Tuesday.

The police report that searches of both boats remain in progress, and that the police have so far discovered three sacks containing 70 packages of drugs from onboard the Iranian-flagged boat.

The drugs are estimated to weigh 70 kilos.

Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed, in a tweet on Monday, announced that the drugs seized in the operation had an estimated street value of MVR 59.2 million.