The US Navy announced Thursday, December 30, the seizure of nearly 400 kilograms of heroin worth about four million dollars on board an unflagged fishing vessel transiting in the Arabian Sea, near the Arabian Gulf. -persic.
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A multinational naval coalition, Naval Task Force 150 (CTF 150), based in Bahrain and supervised by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), announced in early December that it had seized a record number of shipments of drugs this year. “Two US Navy vessels seized 385 kilograms of heroin worth around four million dollars (3.5 million euros) aboard an unmarked fishing vessel transiting the Arabian Sea December 27The Manama-based US 5th Fleet announced on Twitter.
The US Navy destroyed the drugs at sea and freed the boat and its nine crew members, “who have identified themselves as Iranian nationals“, She said in a statement. The US Coast Guard captured the cargo during a “verification of flags in accordance with customary international law», She added. Iran is regularly accused by the United States of carrying out illegal activities in and around Gulf waters, from attacks on foreign ships to arms trafficking.
Last week, the US Navy announced that it had seized 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition from a fishing boat that it said left Iran for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a country in the Arabian Peninsula ravaged by the war. Thirty-four nations, including France, are members of the CMF, which patrols some 8.3 million square kilometers of international waters to fight criminal and terrorist activities. In 2021, CTF 150 seized illegal drugs worth more than $ 193 million (170.3 million euros) during drug operations at sea, a figure higher than that of the previous four years combined, according to the US Navy.