Drugs worth more than $5.2 million aimed to fund terror activities were seized from a suspicious dhow by a Bahrain-based maritime force.
The major operation was carried out by French Marine Nationale ship FS Languedoc, assigned to Combined Task Force (CTF) 150.
The French frigate – part of the task force that operates under the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), announced yesterday the maritime counter-narcotics operation that took place in the Indian Ocean on Monday.
“The intercept-and-search of a vessel suspected of smuggling resulted in the seizure of more than 1,525kg of hash and 166kg of methamphetamine with a combined value of more than $5.2m,” stated the CMF.
“The seizure of narcotics from a dhow in the Indian Ocean is a testament to the strong partnership between CMF, the Marine Nationale and CTF 150,” said CTF 150 Commander, Royal New Zealand Navy Captain Brendon Clark.
“Languedoc has once again demonstrated that through collaboration with like-minded partners, CMF is able to seize and destroy millions of dollars’ worth of narcotics, the income from which would otherwise be used to fund illicit activities and terrorism.”
The New Zealand-led multinational team took over CTF 150 command from Canada last July. During that time the task force under the command of the Royal Canadian Navy interdicted 55,605kg of illicit narcotics, worth an estimated $160m.
The 34-nation CMF, which includes Bahrain’s navy, attempts to counter illicit non-state actors on the high seas, promoting security, stability and prosperity in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman.
The CMF includes three task forces: CTF 150 (counterterrorism and maritime security operations), CTF 151 (anti-piracy operations) and CTF 152 (Gulf maritime security operations).
In the past year CMF-led forces have seized illegal narcotics amounting to a wholesale value of more than $214m.
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