A French frigate operating in support of a Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) task force has seized 456kg of methamphetamine and 364kg heroin and had to ‘decontaminate’ all personnel and contraband in line with Covid-19 precautions after boarding the brazen drug smugglers vessel.
It marked the third drugs bust in the last two months. Commanded from its headquarters in Bahrain and comprising 31 contributing nations, CMF executes mission through three Combined Task Forces across nearly 3.2 million square miles of ocean bordered by 21 countries.
While operating in direct support of CMF’s Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), the Floréal captured the drugs from a suspicious vessel as part of a counter-narcotics operation in the Northern Indian Ocean.
The seizure, last Wednesday, occurred on a route commonly known for drug smuggling, and the narcotics were openly visible on the stateless vessel. “In less than two months, CTF 150 has successfully intercepted over two tonnes of methamphetamine and hashish, and over 300kg of heroin,” said the task force’s Commander, Rear Admiral Sulieman Alfakeeh of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.
“I would like to thank all of the sailors from our partner navies, as well as my staff at CTF 150 for making these operations a success, and stopping these drugs from contributing to the funding of criminal activity and terrorism.”
This operation is the third CMF drug bust since October, with Floréal seizing more than 1.5 tonnes of hashish and the Royal Navy ship HMS Montrose seizing 458kg methamphetamine in what remains CMF’s largest methamphetamine seizure to date.
“Despite the impact and challenges associated with Covid-19, Rear Admiral Alfakeeh has ensured CTF 150 maintained a vigilant watch and enhanced maritime security resulting in these successful narcotics seizures,” said Vice Adm. Samuel Paparo, CMF Commander.
To mitigate the risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19, the boarding team took the necessary precautions to decontaminate all personnel and contraband following the seizure.
In addition to conducting maritime security operations, ships operating in support of CMF have been active in supporting legitimate mariners at sea in recent weeks. In October the USS Winston S Churchill assisted an Iranian-flagged motor vessel in distress while in support of CTF 150. Meanwhile, the Japanese Ship Ariake, operating under a CTF 151 tasking, worked with the French Ship Jean Bart to provide the medical evacuation of an injured mariner.
The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multinational maritime partnership which exists to counter illicit non-state actors on the high seas, promoting security, stability and prosperity in the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman.
CTF 150 operates to disrupt and deny criminal and terrorist organisations operating outside of the Arabian Gulf, to ensure that legitimate commercial shipping can move around the region, free from non-state threats. CTF 150 is currently led by the Royal Saudi Naval Force, the second time that the country’s Navy has led the task force.
CMF has 33 member nations – Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the US and Yemen.
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