Egypt's army foiled a bid to smuggle of 171 kilogrammes of heroin on board an Iranian ship in Red Sea waters, a statement by the Ministry of Defence read Saturday.

Arrest were made by the navy who acted on intelligence that the suspected ship had entered into Egyptian territorial waters.

The ministry statement said that the general command of the armed forces ordered that naval forces send a unit to the vessel for inspection purposes and that during the search they found 319 bags of "white powder", equal to 171 kilogrammes, hidden in the floors of the ship's toilets.

The statement added that the ship's name is ABADAN, and its crew included seven persons: four Iranians, two Indians, and one Pakistani.

The crew have been all arrested and the ship seized and taken to a naval base.