British officials have seized a ship packed with Libyan money and escorted her into a British port, the UK Home Office revealed today.

The vessel was taken into Harwich docks by a coast guard cutter.

A Home Office spokesman said: "A vessel which had been heading to Libya returned to the UK"

"The ship was escorted into the port of Harwich by the UK Border Agency cutter HMS Vigilant.

"A number of containers were offloaded from the boat and have been taken under control of UK Border Agency and have been moved to a secure location.

"The cargo is understood to contain a significant quantity of Libyan currency, which is subject to a UN sanction."

Reports suggested the ship was carrying £100 million worth of the Libyan currency, the dinar, but the Home Office refused to confirm the exact value.

It is understood the ship was intercepted after being tracked to British waters when it aborted an attempt to dock in the Libyan capital Tripoli over the weekend.

Chancellor George Osborne froze Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's £900 million of UK-based assets last weekend.

The UK also banned the unlicensed export of any uncirculated Libyan banknotes from Britain in line with UN sanctions.

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