An Israeli naval patrol boat stopped and boarded a small Turkish vessel in waters off Gaza Tuesday after its captain was killed, apparently by warning shots the Israeli gunners aimed across the vessel’s bows. She was believed to be carrying drugs which were jettisoned.
A military spokesman said the ship was maneuvering in a suspicious manner and took evasive action when ordered to heave to. It displayed no identification and raised the Turkish flag only when the Israeli boarding party arrived. A body found on deck was identified by crew members as the captain.
The vessel was escorted to an Israeli port where a search yielded neither drugs nor arms or ammunition. Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Levy told reporters today that if no contraband was found, the vessel would be released. The crew consisted of Turkish nationals and one Palestinian.
At the time of the incident they were enroute from Cyprus to Beirut. When the Israel patrol boat approached, the crew was seen dumping objects overboard. Two inner tubes packed with hashish were washed up on the Gaza beach some time later. Navy sources said the same vessel was intercepted on previous occasions after attempting evasive action.
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