Iranian border guards have seized a foreign tugboat carrying 382,000 liters of smuggled diesel in the northern waters of the Persian Gulf, the commander of Khuzestan Province’s Border Guard Command said Wednesday.

Axar.az reports, citing IRNA, that Hojjat Safid-Pust said the operation was launched after authorities received intelligence about the smuggling of petroleum products, specifically diesel, by a foreign tugboat in the northern Persian Gulf.

According to evidence obtained during the operation, the vessel had been involved in fuel smuggling and had purchased the fuel from smaller vessels. Following its transfer to a base, border guards arrested 11 foreign nationals and discovered 382,000 liters of diesel during a search.

Officials estimated the value of the seized fuel at more than 570 billion Iranian rials.