Greek Coast Guard Nabs Arms Smuggling Ship Bound for Libya

ATHENS, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Greek authorities have seized a freighter carrying an undeclared cargo of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya, coast guard officers mentioned on Wednesday.

A coast guard patrol boat raided the vessel on Tuesday, 20 nautical miles northeast of Crete. The freighter, with a crew of seven and which had sailed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun, was escorted to Heraklion port on the island.

The United Nations has imposed an embargo on weapons shipments to Libya.

“The ship’s crew is being questioned and the content of its containers will be checked,” a coast guard official mentioned, declining to be named.

The coast guard supplied no additional particulars of what sort of arms the freighter had on board, or its possession.

Libya is split between two rival governments battling for management, leaving a safety vacuum being exploited by migrant smugglers and Islamic militants. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; enhancing by Matthias Williams and John Stonestreet)

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