TASS, February 1. An Egyptian court has handed down a 45-day extension for the detention of the captain and chief officer of the Soy vessel, taken into custody in the Egyptian port of Alexandria in 2022, the Seafarers' Union of Russia told TASS on Wednesday.
Crimea's Permanent Representative to the Russian President Georgy Muradov reported that the trial of the captain and chief officer of the Soy would begin on Tuesday night.
"The trial has begun. According to information from their lawyer, the court has decided to extend the crew's detention for another 45 days," the Seafarers' Union said.
According to the union, the crew of the Soy was arrested in Alexandria on November 4 with containers unloaded from the ship at the port. Three of these containers held 28 tons of the medical drug Tramadol. According to Egyptian authorities, this drug is banned countrywide. The sailors, including five Russians and three Bulgarians, were taken into custody. Interestingly, Egyptian law enforcement officials brought charges only against two Russian sailors: the captain and chief officer of the Soy. The rest of the crew returned home.
Tramadol is a centrally acting synthetic opioid analgesic used for serious injuries, surgery and advanced cases of cancer.