The Italian Guardia di Finanza discovered 30 tons of cannabis on a cargo ship which caught fire some 30 miles north of Malta yesterday evening.

The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) patrol boats were yesterday called to rescue a Tanzanian-registered cargo ship which suffered a fierce fire 30 nautical miles north of Malta.

The Italian Guardia di Finanza said that three days ago reports were received on the possibility that the Gold Star might have been carrying drugs onboard.

The Italian authorities however only gained permission to board the ship and carry out an inspection yesterday afternoon.

Upon seeing this, the nine-men crew on board, made up of Syrians and Egyptians, set the ship on fire and jumped off the ship, risking their lives in the process.

The men were rescued and arrested by the police while the Italian authorities together with the AFM were called to control the fire.

Yesterday evening, Armed Forces of Malta members stationed at the Operations Centre were alerted with an emergency message being transmitted at sea.

After initial investigations it appeared that a Tanzanian registered vessel was on fire and in distress some 30 nautical miles north of Malta.

The AFM immediately dispatched three of its maritime assets, including an inshore patrol vessel P23, a fast interceptor and an offshore patrol vessel P52 together with an Alouette III helicopter to the operational area.

It resulted that the dry cargo vessel was carrying nine persons who are now safe as they were picked up by an Italian Guardia di Finanza vessel that was close by.

The coordination of the search and rescue operation was carried out by the AFM's Rescue Coordination Centre in Luqa.

Apart from AFM vessels, this operation saw the participation of the Maltese Civil Protection Department Vessel Garibaldi, Italian air and naval law enforcement assets as well as a number of civilian support vessels including the 'Nos Taurus'.

The fire fighting operation is still ongoing.