TALLINN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Estonian authorities detained a Bahamas-flagged container ship suspected of smuggling goods from Ecuador during a joint operation in the country's internal waters on Tuesday, the Estonian Public Broadcaster reported.
The detention was carried out by a joint team from the Investigation Department of the Tax and Customs Board (TCB), a police special unit and the Estonian Navy. The ship, the Baltic Spirit, was intercepted near Naissaar Island while en route to Russia.
Officers from the police special unit K-Commando boarded the vessel, which was then placed under state supervision to facilitate customs control. The crew offered no resistance.
The operation is ongoing. In addition to the K-Commando team, officials from the TCB's Investigation Department are on board conducting initial inspections, according to the report.
The container ship had been sailing from Ecuador to Saint Petersburg and entered Estonian waters for bunkering, said the report. At the time of the initial inspection, it was anchored at an official anchorage. The Estonian Navy confirmed that the vessel is not subject to European Union sanctions. ■
