The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

The Criminal Court of Dubai on Sunday heard the first session of a case in which an Asian gang of 10 people, including two captains and eight sailors are accused of attempting to smuggle petroleum materials and transfer them to a ship's tank offshore.

The Dubai Public Prosecution charged the defendants with transporting inflammable materials, in addition to dealing with dangerous materials and entering the country illegally.

According to statement of the officer on duty, a ship and a launch were monitored by the maritime inspectors illegally entered the country's territorial waters last July.

The officer explained that by arriving at the coordinates that were specified by the command and control room, he witnessed the exchange of petroleum materials between the ship and the launch.

Accordingly, the officer arrested them with the help of the rest of the members of the naval seizure.

It was found out they were selling smuggled petroleum materials, and that the defendants entered the country illegally. They confessed to the charges, the officer added.

The court ordered their continued detention.