Fishing vessel seized with 3,492 kgs of hashish, 472 kgs of heroin

Agencies | Manama                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Illegal drugs worth $24 million have been seized by a French warship during a reconnaissance operation last month in the North Arabian Sea.

French Marine Nationale frigate FS Guépratte (F714) said they seized the drugs on the 27th of December 2022 from a fishing vessel transiting international waters in the North Arabian Sea.

According to the Combined Maritime Forces, the seizure came as the frigate was patrolling regional waters in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150.

Reportedly, the French navy seized 3,492 kilograms of hashish and 472 kilograms of heroin from the fishing vessel. Led by the Royal Saudi Navy, CTF 150 is one of four task forces organised under the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the largest international naval partnership in the world consisting of 34 member nations.

CMF has seized nearly $1 billion worth of illicit narcotics since 2021 while patrolling international waters in the Middle East. Guépratte previously seized 271 kilograms of heroin from another fishing vessel while patrolling the Gulf of Oman in February 2022.