Terror groups on backfoot after drug seizures

DUBAI: Groups like Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and the Taleban are on the backfoot following a series of major drug seizures on the high seas this year. The illegal global trade in narcotics is an important source of funds for these outfits and recent record seizures by global navies in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea from January to May have disrupted their operations to a large extent.

A whopping 2,871kg of heroin and 2,736kg of hashish worth millions of dollars were recovered from smugglers on boats in 10 major operations. In the latest bust, 55.7kg of heroin worth $22million was recovered on May 25 from a dhow in the north Arabian Sea by the Royal Navy’s HMS Somerset operating under the Combined Maritime Forces, a coalition of navies.

Khaleej Times reported the patrolling, confiscation and destruction of the dangerous contarband had dealt a “significant blow” to drug smuggling networks linked to Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab.

Two weeks ago, the Australian HMAS Darwin netted 786kg of hashish from another dhow. On May 15, the same ship intercepted a boat off the East African coast to recover and destroy 449kg of heroin.

In April, the Combined Task Force (CTF-150) of the naval coalition based in Bahrain, pulled in a whopping 1,032kg of heroin, a record, near Kenya and Tanzania. ‘‘The successful seizures are testament to the evolving and increasingly effective cooperation and coordination between international maritime forces working under CTF 150,” said Lieutanant Commander Sally Armstrong of the Royal Navy.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed this was the largest ever amount of heroin seized on the high seas.

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