Pakistan Navy seizes drugs worth billion of rupee not only dealt a major blow to the drug smuggling in the Arabian Sea but also proved its professional capabilities worldwide.
The Pakistan Navy ship PNS Yarmouk carried out the operation in cooperation with the Saudi-led Joint Task Force 150. This operation was carried out in cooperation with the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which paid tribute to the Pakistan Navy for this successful operation.
In just 48 hours, PNS Yarmouk seized two suspicious boats. Both the boats were traveling without identification marks and without Automatic Identification System (AIS). During the operation, two tons of crystal meth (ice) were recovered from the first boat, which is estimated to be worth about $822.4 million in the global market.
Just two days later, another 350 kilograms of ice and 50 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from the second boat, which are worth about $140 million and $10 million respectively. Thus, the total value of the seized drugs is $972.4 million, or about Rs275 billion in Pakistani currency. The recovered drugs were destroyed after testing so that they could not fall into the hands of smuggling networks again. Commodore Fahd Al-Juweid, Commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, described this successful operation as an excellent example of international cooperation and said, “This operation proves that the Pakistan Navy is playing a leading role in the global fight against drug trafficking. This success of PNS Yarmouk is considered one of the biggest successful operations in the history of joint naval forces.”
Operation “Al-Masmak” began on October 16, in which the navies of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United States, France and Spain participated. Its aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons, drugs and other illicit goods by non-state actors in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) includes 47 countries that are working together to ensure peace and stability in the world’s most important sea lanes.
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