Ship & Crew Detained by Nigerian Navy Under Arms Smuggling Suspicions

UPDATE:

The ship's owner reportedly commented that the ship had all the required permissions to carry arms and had stopped in Lagos to change crew, according to BBC. It was travelling in high-risk areas, from Madagascar to Conakry.

Members from the Russian embassy out of Lagos have visited the detained crew who still have not been released from the ship - identified now as the MV Myre Seadiver - in an effort to get them freed.

However, Nigerian Navy representatives plan to hold the crewmen and the ship for further investigation. They reportedly had no permission to enter Nigeria, especially while carrying an extensive cargo of arms.

Moran Security Group also claims the vessel is flying a Cook Islands flag, not a Dutch one as initially reported.

---

Upon discovering several guns, including rifles, and about 8,600 rounds of ammunition on a ship, the Nigerian Navy has seized the vessel and detained its 15 Russian crewmen. They are being investigated under the suspicion of arms smuggling.

The vessel was intercepted over the weekend in Lagos. According to Reuters, the ship belongs to Moscow-based Moran Security Group, who made no official comment yet. It was also flying a Dutch flag.

The investigation is currently ongoing, so few details can be confirmed.

However, an anonymous Nigerian Navy source stated that 22 Benelli MR1 rifles and several other automatic weapons were found.

Arms smuggling is a booming business in Nigeria. The country is also sometimes used as a channel for shipping arms into other parts of West Africa or the world.