The Royal Navy announced it has seized three tonnes of hashish in one of the most significant drugs busts in the Persian Gulf this year. The crew of the Portsmouth-based warship ‘HMS Dragon’ was on patrol in the Middle East, when they came across a suspicious dhow in a notorious drug smuggling route known as the ‘Hash Highway’.
Sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Dragon launched their fast boats to intercept and board the vessel, and conducted a thorough search of its compartments. They ultimately found 148 bags of hashish, weighing around 3,048kg. The haul comes days after HMS Dragon became the first Royal Navy destroyer to work alongside F35 Lightning jets on operations in the Middle East.
The ‘Hash Highway’ runs from Afghanistan, a major drugs producer, by land through Iran or Pakistan, and then across the sea to countries in east Africa and the Middle East. Profits from drug smuggling are a known source funding for terrorist organisations and criminal networks.
During our initial search, it became apparent there were a number of reasons to suspect the dhow could be involved in illicit activity…This success validates the significant hard work of all on board to ensure we were in the right place, with the right training and equipment and intelligence to achieve this result; one of the largest recent finds within this region,
…explained Lieutenant Laurie Williams is HMS Dragon’s deputy marine engineer officer, and boarding officer.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
HMS Dragon has been working in the Middle East as part of the Combined Task Force 150, a multi-national organisation responsible for maintaining security in some of the world’s most important shipping lanes. HMS Dragon will continue to support the task force over the coming days, before participating in an exercise with the Indian Navy.
Alongside keeping key shipping channels safe, countering piracy and providing disaster relief, the Royal Navy makes a significant contribution to global security by tackling the illicit drugs trade. The success of HMS Dragon’s seizure is the latest blow struck to this nefarious industry,
…said Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.
