Tanzania intercepts Iranian ship with over 200 kg of heroin

DAR ES SALAAM - Tanzanian anti-narcotics authorities have intercepted an Iranian vessel carrying 201 kg of heroin worth about 5 million U.S. dollars and arrested eight Iranians and four Pakistani nationals in connection with the haul, police said. The head of Tanzania’s anti-drugs unit, Godfrey Nzowa, on Tuesday confirmed the seizure of the drugs and the arrest of the suspects, saying police were holding them for questioning. Nzowa said the vessel was intercepted early Tuesday in the Indian Ocean between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, adding that the drugs were being ferried in a vessel called Aldahial registered in Kunak, Iran. He said the team that intercepted the vessel comprised members of the anti-drugs unit, marine police, officers from the navy division of the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces and the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service. Nzowa said the seizure of the heroin was part of an operation carried out in collaboration with other law enforcers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states and other countries from around the world. Xinhua