UK Warship Seizes 450 Kilograms of Meth in Arabian Sea

By Staff, Agencies

A British royal navy vessel seized 450 kilograms [990 pounds] of methamphetamine in the northern Arabian Sea in the largest-ever bust by a joint maritime operation in the region, officials said Wednesday.

The HMS Montrose seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless dhow, a traditional cargo ship that plies the Gulf and surrounding waters, the joint task force said in a statement. The seizure took place last Wednesday.

The task force said it was unable to say where the drugs came from, who manufactured them or their ultimate destination.

There appears to be an uptick in meth drug labs in Afghanistan, from where it is smuggled through Pakistan, the United Nations said in its 2020 World Drug Report.