Xepolite ship (foreward)
Xepolite ship (aft)
Xepolite ships were a type of freighter utilized by the Xepolites during the late-24th century. These ships were built especially for weapons smuggling, notably for the Cardassians, as they had hulls that were composed of a sensor-reflective material that prevented scanning and were capable of the maximum speed of warp 9.8.
In 2370, Commander Sisko and Gul Dukat, aboard a Starfleet runabout encountered a Xepolite ship near the Demilitarized Zone suspected of transporting weapons. Their presense was ignored until the runabout fired its phasers across the ships bow. The ships commander, Hetman Drofo Awa, denied the claim that his ship was hauling weapons, and was in fact haul five kilotons of Regrean wheat husks. Awa refused to let Sisko aboard for an inspection, noting that any attempt to board his vessel would be viewed as an act of piracy. Dukat would then intervene and state that if he did not lower his shields and allow Sisko aboard his ship, his ship would be destroyed. Awa complied and following the inspection, he followed the runabout back to Deep Space 9, where he was to offload his cargo and sign a confession of his actions. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II")