Australian Warship's Huge Drugs Haul

HMAS Darwin has struck again against drug smugglers, intercepting another vessel in the Arabian Sea and seizing more than 6.2 tonnes of narcotics with an estimated street value of almost $250 million, informs the Australian Defence Force.

Darwin’s boarding parties located 315 bags hidden onboard the dhow. Each bag contained between 20 to 21 kilograms of hashish (also known as cannabis resin).

Darwin’s Commanding Officer, Commander Terry Morrison, said the removal of more than 6248kg of narcotics would have a significant impact on the funding of terrorist organisations.

“HMAS Darwin remains focused on countering terrorism and I am proud of the continued dedication and professionalism of the crew onboard Darwin and the role they play as part of the Combined Maritime Forces,” CMDR Terry Morrison said.

The warship is deployed under tasking to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, currently under United Kingdom command.

Commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East Area of Operations, Major General Craig Orme, said the deployment of HMAS Darwin to the Middle East as part of Joint Task Force 633 has an important role to support the coalition maritime mission. “Each narcotic seizure impedes terrorist funding and is a success for the Combined Maritime Forces and Joint Task Force 633,” MAJGEN Orme said.

The CMF works to defeat terrorism, prevent piracy, encourage regional engagement, reduce illegal trafficking of people and drugs; and promote the maritime environment as a safe place for mariners with legitimate business.