The Royal Navy ship HMS Somerset, supporting Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, has seized an $22.4m (USD) haul of heroin after a raid on a suspect vessel in the northern Arabian Sea.
(CMF)- The 55.7 kilograms of drugs were seized by sailors and Royal Marines from Plymouth-based HMS Somerset who intercepted the fishing dhow in fast RHIB dinghies.
HMS Somerset’s crew found the dhow, a type of vessel common to the Middle East and Indian Ocean, on Sunday afternoon, during an operation for the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
CTF-150 is currently commanded by Royal Navy Commodore Jeremy Blunden, and his team of 24 Royal Navy personnel, from the CMF headquarters in Bahrain.
Once on board, the Royal Navy team worked tirelessly for 23 hours throughout the evening and overnight to find the contraband’s hiding place, stashed under a false deck.
Afterwards, they brought the drugs on board HMS Somerset where they were tested for purity and then destroyed.