A Japanese firm is being probed on suspicion of falsely declaring that it was planning to sell a ship to a company in the United Arab Emirates before selling the vessel to a company in Iran, an investigative source said Wednesday. The Osaka-based firm was searched by police Tuesday on suspicion of violating the customs law after allegedly making a false declaration around May 2021 that it was selling a 499-ton used cargo ship to a company in the UAE, the source said. While selling ships to Iranian companies is not prohibited in Japan, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, m…