marine commandos on INS Tarkash with the 2.5 tonnes of of
seized narcotics
(Photo/Supplied)
The New
Zealand-led naval task force in the Indian Ocean continues
to seize hauls of illegal drugs with an Indian Navy frigate
the latest to intercept smugglers, recovering more than 2.5
tonnes of heroin and hashish.
Indian Naval Ship
Tarkash, working in direct support to Combined Task Force
(CTF 150) under the 46-nation Combined Maritime Force (CMF),
seized the drugs while patrolling the western Indian Ocean
on Monday.
The 121kg of heroin and 2386kg of hashish
was discovered when marine commandos from Tarkash boarded a
suspect dhow and conducted a thorough search. The drugs were
found in various cargo holds and compartments.
They
were estimated to have a street value of $NZ181 million,
bringing the total amount of narcotics seized by CTF 150
under New Zealand command this year to
$NZ661m.
Tarkash was able to intercept the vessel
after receiving information from CTF 150 command and a
patrolling Indian Navy P-8I Poseidon aircraft. Tarkash also
launched its helicopter to monitor the vessel before it was
boarded.
from INS Tarkash conducts a boarding of the suspicious dhow
(Photo/Supplied)
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The Royal New
Zealand Navy’s Commodore Rodger Ward, is commander of CTF
150 and says Monday was a great day for the navies
involved.
“I was very proud of the team and the way
they worked together. These are young officers and sailors
from multiple nations working together using their training
and experience to outwit the smugglers and it’s great to
see them achieving and celebrating a success.”
The
Indian Navy’s Captain Suman Saurabh Sharma is CTF 150
deputy commander and says the seizure demonstrates how
effective a multinational partnership can be in working
together to disrupt criminal
activities.
“The professionalism and
teamwork shown by all of the CMF nations and the units at
sea involved in this operation contributed to our
success.”
Indian Navy ships and
aircraft are regularly deployed as part of CMF
operations.
Tarkash is a Teg class frigate of the
Indian Navy, and is part of the Western Fleet under Western
Naval Command based at Mumbai. The ship has been deployed to
the western Indian Ocean since January, and recently joined
CTF 150 in direct support of maritime security
operations.
Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te
Kaha is also conducting patrols in the area as part of CTF
150
operations.
