.jpg?20260326')
A Bahrain-based task force has seized illicit narcotics worth more than $36 million from a vessel in the Arabian Sea.
A UK Royal Navy ship, working in direct support of New Zealand-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), seized 1,000kg of heroin, 660kg hashish, and 6kg of amphetamine during the operation.
HMS Lancaster’s boarding team identified and tracked a suspicious boat using an uncrewed aerial system.
Two sea boats with crew from Royal Marine Boarding Teams immediately approached the vessel while a WT2 Wildcat helicopter conducted overwatch.
Once aboard, the team discovered multiple packages containing illicit narcotics. The packages were transported back to the ship for testing to confirm the contents and subsequently disposed of.
HMS Lancaster’s commanding officer Royal Navy Cmdr. Chris Chew said his crew’s motivation, commitment and dedication have, once again, paid off.
“This is another example of where Lancaster has delivered at range, in isolation, utilising her own organic assets,” Cmdr. Chew said.
“Whether they come in the form of her Wildcat, uncrewed air system, embarked intelligence team or her Royal Marine Boarding Team, (they delivered) on operations in support of the Combined Maritime Forces construct and New Zealand-led CTF 150,” he added.
Sea boats with crew from Royal Marine Boarding Teams approaching the suspicious vessel
The Commander of Combined Force 150 Royal New Zealand Navy Cmdr. Rodger Ward praised the interdiction operations as a true team effort.
He said it requires tight co-ordination ‘from the men and women here in the headquarters in Bahrain, reaching through to those out on the oceans disrupting drug smuggling operations at the coal face’.
“I’d like to acknowledge the 210-strong ship’s company from HMS Lancaster for continuing to get amongst it day-after-day,” he said.
“Everyone in the team can be proud of their efforts to disrupt the criminal and terrorist organisations that continue to use illicit narcotics to fund their activities. This is a significant blow to their revenue stream. This successful interdiction is tantamount to the tenacity, training and professionalism from our Royal Navy partners.”
HMS Lancaster is a Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy deployed to the Middle East region to provide regional maritime security and stability.
CTF 150 is one of five task forces under CMF, the world’s largest international naval partnership. Its 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, headquartered in Bahrain, is a 46-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.
The GDN last month reported that more than 2,500kg of drugs were seized over the course of a joint maritime naval operation, during which six suspicious vessels were boarded.
&uuid=(email))