MOSCOW, October 9 (RAPSI) - Greenpeace activists on trial for maritime piracy in Russia soon may face new charges after drugs were found at the Arctic Sunrise ship, Investigative Committee's official spokesperson Vladimir Markin told journalists on Wednesday.

Markin added that the investigators have secured an official court order to seize the ship. Earlier, 30 members of the crew were charged with maritime piracy.  "With this new evidence that came to light during the investigation, the charges against the accused will be augmented accordingly. It is very clear to the investigation that a number of participants will be chraged with other serious crimes," Markin said.

The Arctic Sunrise ship was seized by Russian border guards on September 19 in international waters, within Russia's exclusive economic zone, a day after two Greenpeace activists scaled the Prirazlomnaya drilling rig in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. Greenpeace claimed that the ship was held under armed guard.

The platform, owned by Gazprom Neft Shelf, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is the first ice-resistant stationary oil platform in the world set to produce offshore Arctic oil.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic because they say that it is currently impossible to sufficiently clean up potential oil spills in the region, and that such drilling cannot be economically viable without state subsidies.