Police seized on Tuesday in Puerto Galera the private yacht allegedly used in transporting smuggled high-powered firearms from a foreign ship recently intercepted in Mariveles, Bataan, a police official said.

Supt. James Brillantes, chief of the Puerto Galera Police in Oriental Mindoro, said the operation also resulted in the arrest of the yacht’s British captain, identified as Derek Colin Gordon Nevill.

Brillantes said the yacht was anchored in the coastal area of Bukete Island in Barangay San Isidro on Saturday.

“The private yacht, M/Y Mo Man Tai, is now under the custody of the Philippine Coast Guard in Puerto Galera,” said Brillantes, adding that the yacht captain is now under police custody for interrogation.

Last August 20, authorities confiscated at least 50 pieces of Galil rifles stuffed in five wooden crates inside the M/V Captain Ufuk off Mariveles, Bataan. The South African captain of the ship and at least 13 of his crew, mostly Georgian nationals, were arrested and are now under the custody of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.

Senior Supt. Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said the ship’s captain and crew will be slapped with several criminal charges, including illegal possession of firearms.