IRNA – Eight Iranian sailors who were arrested mistakenly by Seychelles Coastguard and anti-drugs officials in the Indian Ocean in April 2016, were released by the mediations of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said a local official on Tuesday.


“Eight Iranians and 8 Pakistanis charged with narcotic drug trafficking were captured by Seychelles Coast Guard and the National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA) onboard a dhow,” Deputy Governor General of Sistan and Baluchestan province for security affairs Ali Asghar Mir Shekari said.

“A group of 21 Iranian sailors living in Konarak town in South of Sistan and Baluchestan who have been captured by Somalia pirates in open seas a few months ago are still kept by them and all efforts to release the Iranian sailors have been futile,” he added.

Meanwhile, speaking to IRNA on Tuesday morning, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi confirmed the release of the eight Iranian sailors in Tanzania while rejecting other reports about freedom of the Iranian sailors in Somalia.