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AUSTRALIA-DRUGS-MILITARY
Australian warship makes second big drugs bust in Arabian Sea
SYDNEY, Jan 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – An Australian warship has made its second
large drugs bust in the Arabian Sea within a week, seizing 3.5 tonnes of
hashish with an estimated street value of US$142 million, officials said
Friday.
It followed HMAS Warramunga making an eight-tonne hashish haul in late
December during manoeuvres in the area as part of the Combined Maritime
Forces (CMF) naval partnership.
The latest seizure occurred on January 3 with support from a British Royal
Navy helicopter, with crew from the frigate boarding a suspect vessel in
international waters.
HMAS Warramunga commanding officer Dugald Clelland said it was a complex
night operation.
“The Royal Navy helicopter was able to cue us onto a suspect vessel, which
Warramunga’s boarding party searched in challenging conditions,” he said.
“The boarding party did a first-rate job locating and seizing more than
three-and-a-half tonnes of illicit narcotics.”
Officials did not say where in the Arabian sea the drugs were seized, where
the smuggling vessel was believed to have come from or give its likely
destination. The HMAS Warramunga is part of the Combined Maritime Forces
naval partnership in which 32 nations patrol 6.5 million square kilometres
(2.5 million square miles) of international waters.
Their focus is on ensuring the free flow of legitimate commerce, but also
to crack down on terrorist activity in the Middle East and Indian Ocean
regions.
BSS/AFP/RY/08:45 hrs