Over 2.5 tonnes of drugs seized from ship in Arabian Sea
A multinational naval partnership said on Thursday it seized more than 2.5 tonnes of illicit substances from a ship in the Arabian Sea earlier this week.
"An Indian navy ship, working in direct support of New Zealand-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150... seized over 2,500 kilogrammes of illicit narcotics from a vessel in the Arabian Sea, March 31," said the Combined Maritime Forces in a statement.
"The Talwar-class frigate INS Tarkash seized 2,386 kg of hashish and 121 kg of heroin in one of the largest narcotics seizures in the region recently," it added, noting they were worth over $8 million.
Members of the international Combined Task Force 150 conduct maritime security and counter-terrorism operations to disrupt illicit activities including the movement of personnel, weapons and narcotics.
The force operates under the Bahrain-headquartered CMF, which was established in 2001 initially as a partnership between 12 nations.
It now comprises of 46 nations whose vessels patrol 3.2 million square miles (8.3 million sq kilometres) of international waters, including important shipping lanes.
It is active strategic but troubled Gulf waters where tankers had been seized and attacked.
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