Coast Guard finds 31 assault rifles on detained ship

New Delhi: Security forces have seized 31 assault rifles and around 5,000 rounds of ammunition from the ship detained off the coast of Tuticorin coast, from 35 people on board including four Indian ex-army and navy personnel. The US-registered 44-metre-long MV Seaman Guard Ohio, which is claimed to be used for providing security to merchant vessels operating through the Gulf of Aden, has 35 persons on board including one ex-Indian navy sailor and three ex-army personnel, sources said in New Delhi.[caption id=“attachment_1171597” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] MV Seaman Guard Ohio ship at Tuticorin Port in Tamil Nadu on Monday. PTI[/caption] It has also been found that the ship has not been maintaining weapon log, they said. The Coast Guard had apprehended the ship 47 miles from Tuticorin after state intelligence agencies in Tamil Nadu suspected that it would be dropping off weapons in some boats operating near it. Sources said this is the second time in the last two months that the ship has been detained by the Coast Guard with last such instance being off the coast of Kochi. However, nothing suspicious was found there and the ship was let off. The people on board the ship are of British, Estonian and Indian origin. PTI