Egyptian navy finds weapons cache on boat from Malta

The Egyptian navy has impounded a speedboat with a Togolese flag and weapons and ammunition, some 12 nautical miles north of Sinai's Ras Mohamed yesterday, Cairo's national army spokesperson Ahmed Ali said.

The boat reportedly belonged to a Ukrainian private security service company, and was said to have left Malta. It allegedly tried to stop near the Adabeya port in Suez to unload the shipment, but could not due to strict security measures in this area, the spokesman said.

It then sailed to Ras Mohamed to load the shipment onto smaller boats, but was impounded by the Navy.

The shipment included machine guns, shells and rockets, land mines, hand grenades and M-60 rifles.

Ali said on Facebook that the boat's license indicated that the company secures ships against pirate attacks during their passage through high risk areas south of the Red Sea and off the Somali coast.

The weapons and ammunition found aboard the boat are necessary for the company to carry out its mission, the official added.

Local press reported however, that not one but two boats belonging to the Ukrainian company were impounded.

But Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper quoted a military source as saying that investigations are underway into the seven-man crew, which includes Ukrainians, Britons and Americans.