27/04/2015

Nine Arrested Over Drug Seizure On Tugboat

Nine men have been arrested in connection with cocaine found onboard an ocean-going tugboat in the North Sea.

The National Crime Agency said that intelligence received led to a joint operation with Border Force and the Royal Navy, to intercept MV Hamal, around 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire.

The vessel was boarded and accompanied into Aberdeen where a search was carried out by specialist Border Force officers with operational support from Police Scotland.

The crew of the Hamal, nine men all aged between 26 and 63, were detained for questioning by investigators from the NCA's Border Policing Command, and later charged with drug trafficking offences.

They remain in custody and will appear before Aberdeen Sheriff Court on today..

John McGowan, from the National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command, based at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh, said: "This is a potentially significant seizure of illegal drugs, only made possible by the co-operation between ourselves, Border Force, the Royal Navy, French Customs and our other international partners.

"The exact amount of cocaine on board is yet to be determined and the search is likely to continue for some time."

(MH/CD)


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