The public prosecution department has begun a criminal investigation into a Dutch shipping company that attempted to send armored vehicles to Libya, in defiance of the weapons embargo.

A cargo ship belonging to Shipping Company Groningen was caught last year with the vehicles on board.

The prosecution department has declined to give further information about the case, RTL Nieuws reported. However, a UN commission that monitors the sanctions said last November that the firm was suspected of breaking the rules. 

Officials found 41 armored vehicles on board the MV Meersijk, which had come from a factory in the UAE. The ship was heading for Libya but was diverted to Marseille where the vehicles were impounded. 

The Groningen firm said at the time it had all the necessary documentation for the cargo but declined to answer RTL’s questions about the criminal probe.