More than $972 million worth of narcotics have been seized in the Sea of Oman, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) said Tuesday in a statement.
A Pakistani naval vessel carried out the operation, intercepting a dhow on Saturday and seizing over two tons of crystal methamphetamine, with an estimated value of $822.4 million, according to the CMF.
“Less than 48 hours later, the crew intercepted a second dhow and seized 350 kilograms of methamphetamine worth $140 million, along with 50 kilograms of cocaine valued at $10 million,” the statement added.
The operation was described as “one of the most successful narcotics seizures” for the Combined Maritime Forces, said Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), which led the operation.
Based in Bahrain, CTF-150 operates under the command of the CMF — a coalition of 47 countries — and is tasked with combating illicit trafficking in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and around the Horn of Africa.
Neither of the two boats displayed any identifying markings and were determined to be stateless vessels.
The seized drugs were transferred to the Pakistani ship for testing and subsequently destroyed, the statement said.
