US Navy seizes tons of drugs
2009-10-20 14:51
Manama - An American warship on anti-piracy patrol has seized four tons (3,600 kilos) of hashish from a wooden boat in a part of the Gulf of Aden known as the "Hash Highway", the US Fifth Fleet said on Tuesday.
It said the USS Anzio's seizure of the drugs with an estimated street value of 28 million dollars took place on October 15 off the southern Omani coastal city of Salalah.
The skiff was "spotted travelling at a high speed by Anzio's crew", the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said in a statement. "Following a brief chase, the skiff was boarded."
"Yesterday these sailors were hunting pirates. Today they have sent a message to all would-be smugglers that we won't tolerate pirates or drug traffickers in these waters," a US military commander said in the statement.
It said the drugs were thrown overboard and destroyed, without reporting arrests. More than 22 tons of drugs have been seized in the region so far this year, the Fifth Fleet said.
