Meth, cocaine worth nearly $1 billion seized from 2 sailboats in the Arabian Sea, U.S. confirms

A Pakistani navy ship seized narcotics worth more than $972 million from sailboats in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command confirmed on Tuesday.

The Combined Maritime Forces, a naval partnership that includes the United States, said the Pakistani naval vessel PNS Yarmook last week intercepted two different traditional sailing vessels, known as dhows, within 48 hours.

The crew seized several tons of crystal methamphetamine, worth over $960 million, and a smaller amount of cocaine, the partnership said in a statement.

“The narcotics were transported back to the ship for testing to confirm the contents and subsequently disposed of,” the partnership said.

The intercepted vessels were “identified as having no nationality,” it said without indicating where they had originated.

Pakistan’s navy touted the seizure on social media, posting video of the PNS Yarmook.

“The success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the multi-national collaboration,” said Royal Saudi Naval Forces Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of the task force carrying out the operation. “PNS Yarmook has had one of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF, which is directly attributed to the expertise and collaboration of our naval forces within the organization.”

In a social media post, U.S. Central Command congratulated the Combined Maritime Forces, which includes 47 countries’ navies and patrols more than 3 million square miles of sea, including some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to disrupt the smuggling of drugs and weapons.

Smugglers often use dhows to transport drugs quietly through the region. In 2021, the U.S. Navy rescued five Iranians suspected of smuggling drugs after they apparently set fire to their stash on board a dhow.

Large amounts of drugs have been confiscated from boats in the open sea around the globe in recent months. Last month, the French navy seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine worth more than $600 million from a fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa.

In April, the U.S. Coast Guard seized roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean. That haul was worth an estimated $74 million.