The Pakistani navy, operating as part of the Saudi-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), has seized nearly $1bn worth of narcotics from two vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea.
The CMF, the naval network overseeing the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday that last week, the Pakistani navy intercepted the dhows in two separate operations over 48 hours and seized narcotics worth more than $972m.
The crew boarded the first dhow and seized more than 2 tonnes of “crystal methamphetamine (ICE) with an estimated street value of $822,400,000” on October 18, the CMF said in a statement.
“Less than 48 hours later, the crew boarded a second dhow and seized 350 kg of ICE worth $140,000,000, and 50 kg of cocaine worth $10,000,000.”
The CMF did not provide further details on where the vessels originated, but added that they were identified “as having no nationality”.
The operations were conducted in direct support of a Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150, which said “the success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the multi-national collaboration”.
It was “one of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF”, said Saudi Arabian navy’s Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of the CMF task force carrying out the operation.
The CMF is a 47-nation naval partnership tasked with inspecting more than 3.2 million square miles (about 829 million hectares) of waters, including some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, to prevent smuggling, the statement added.
In a separate statement, the Pakistani navy said the achievement highlighted its “unwavering commitment to regional maritime security, global peace, and the collective fight against illicit trafficking at sea”.
