The Indian Navy ship INS Talwar, operating in support of a Bahrain-based taskforce, conducted its first interdiction of illicit narcotics, seizing 940kg of drugs from a suspicious dhow sailing in the Arabian Sea.
The operation was conducted on Sunday.
The frigate, part of the Canadian-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, seized 453kg of methamphetamines, 416kg of hashish and 7kg of heroin from a dhow as part of Focused Operation Crimson Barracuda.
The Indian Navy joined Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) last November.
“I commend the crew of INS Talwar for their efforts throughout this Focused Operation and their hard work has paid off with the seizure of 940kg of drugs,” said Taskforce commander Royal Canadian Navy Captain Colin Matthews.
“This seizure, the fourth of this Focused Operation, demonstrates the effectiveness and professionalism of CMF, and of the Indian Navy, in deterring and disrupting criminal and terrorist activities at sea.”
Crimson Barracuda, which concluded on April 15, focused on countering terrorist and criminal organisations’ use of the high seas to conduct smuggling operations in the Western Indian Ocean region. CTF 150 is one of five taskforces under CMF, the world’s largest international naval partnership.
CTF 150’s mission is to deter and disrupt the ability of non-state actors to move weapons, drugs and other illicit substances in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
CMF is a 42-nation naval partnership upholding the international rules-based order by promoting security and stability across 3.2 million square miles of water encompassing some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
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