More than $972 million worth of narcotics were seized from two dhows in the Arabian Sea during coordinated operations over two days, the US Central Command said, in a major disruption to illicit trafficking in one of the world’s busiest maritime regions.
- When: First boarding on 18 October; second boarding less than 48 hours later.
- Where: Arabian Sea; operations conducted by the Pakistan Navy ship PNS Yarmook in support of the Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150.
- What was seized: Two tonnes of crystal methamphetamine from the first dhow; 350 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 50 kg of cocaine from the second dhow.
- Estimated street value: More than $822 million for the first seizure; $140 million for the second meth seizure; $10 million for the cocaine seizure; total exceeding $972 million.
- Aftermath: Seized drugs were tested aboard the navy ship and subsequently disposed of.
Royal Saudi Naval Forces Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of Combined Task Force 150, praised the operation’s multinational collaboration and called PNS Yarmook’s actions “one of the most successful narcotics seizures for Combined Maritime Forces,” attributing the outcome to the expertise and cooperation of member naval forces.
- Combined Task Force 150 works to deter and disrupt the movement of weapons, drugs, and other illicit materials by non-state actors across the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
- Combined Maritime Forces is a 47-nation naval partnership responsible for promoting security and stability across roughly 8.3 million square kilometres of crucial sea lanes.
The haul underscores the scale and sophistication of maritime drug trafficking networks and demonstrates the effectiveness of multinational naval cooperation in intercepting high-value shipments before they reach regional or global markets.
