UK Navy warship makes record narcotics bust in the Gulf

Britain's Royal Navy said Thursday it had seized ten tonnes of hash worth tens of millions of pounds, in a record bust in the Gulf.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

21 December, 2018

Ten tonnes of narcotics were seized by the navy warship [Getty]

Tens of millions of pounds of hash was seized by Britain's Royal Navy, it said on Thursday, in a record bust in the Gulf.

The navy said a destroyer on operations intercepted two boats carrying the ten tonnes of hash during a 48-hour window "on a notorious drug smuggling route known as the Hash Highway", according to the navy.

The seizure by HMS Dragon was the largest ever by a multi-national policing operation targeting Gulf waters and had a street value of £75 million (83 million euros, $95 million), it added.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said it represented "a significant dent in the pockets of criminals who seek to put these drugs onto our streets".

"The global narcotics network is a scourge that we are absolutely committed to tackling, as part of our commitment to security in the Gulf and across the world," he added.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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