Armed sailors from a Bahrain-based maritime task force have raided a dhow smuggling narcotics worth $248 million off the coast of Somalia.

Navy forces were tracking the vessel, which was sailing from the Arabian Sea to the Horn of Africa, for four days in harsh weather conditions, before they intercepted it and discovered 5,588kg of hashish in hessian bags, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

It is believed the smugglers had links to terrorist organisations in the region including Al Shabaab, Boko Haram and Al Qaeda.

The operation was carried out by Royal Australian Navy warship, HMAS Toowoomba, under the command of Pakistan Navy-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), supported by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) maritime patrol aircraft, which are part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain.

“I am proud of the tenacity and hard work displayed by the Toowoomba team to intercept and board the dhow in challenging weather conditions before executing an extensive search of the vessel to locate the elaborately concealed drugs,” said HMAS Toowoomba commanding officer Commander Cath Hayes.

HMAS Toowoomba boarding officer Lieutenant Stefan Stuart said the drugs were well hidden and, once found, were extremely difficult to access and remove.

“It is great to make an intercept of this magnitude,” he said.

“The weather was not on our side but our training and our persistence paid off.”

This was the first successful counter-narcotics operation for CTF-150 since the Pakistan Navy took command of the maritime security and counter-terrorism mission in August this year under the command of Commodore Sajid Mahmood.

“I am incredibly proud of the sailors and airmen involved in this complicated operation,” added Commodore Mahmood.

History

“CTF-150 has a long history of disrupting narcotics trafficking in the region and Toowoomba, with the support of 5 Squadron of the RNZAF, have carried this on.”

The CMF is made up of 30 nations, including Bahrain, whose main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, encouraging regional co-operation, and promoting a safe maritime environment.

The task force has been stationed at the US Navy Base in Bahrain since its formation in 2001.

In July this year, a warship operating as part of the CMF seized 6,248kg of hashish from a dhow in the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be the largest haul at sea in recent years. - TradeArabia News Service