Royal Navy seizes massive drugs haul in the Gulf
Plymouth-based Royal Navy warships operating in the Gulf region have seized a massive 23 tonnes of narcotics, which could have been used to fund the insurgency fighting British forces in Afghanistan. The British warships involved were Devonport-based frigates HMS Chatham and HMS Montrose, and the Portsmouth-based destroyer HMS Edinburgh. They were supported by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary helicopter support ship Argus and her embarked Sea King aircraft.
Sailors and Royal Marines from the ships discovered hidden drugs in vessels along the so-called ‘Hash Highway’, and often operated in the most unpleasant of conditions. The narcotics they seized included hashish, opiates, cocaine and amphetamines.
By some estimates hashish accounts for half the profits from the drug trade in the region. The United Nations World Drug Report estimates that drug addiction rates have almost tripled in the Arab world.
Seizures by coalition naval forces over the past five months total 30 tonnes, over 70 per cent of which (23 tonnes) were down to Royal Navy interceptions.