Royal Navy-led task force seizes £17m of illegal drugs in the Middle East

A Royal Navy-led task force has seized £17m of illegal drugs after a bust in the Middle East.

US Navy destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, operating under Combined Task Force 150, commanded by Captain Jim Byron and his team in Bahrain, intercepted a suspicious vessel in the Arabian Sea.

The boarding team then seized one tonne of hashish and 800kg of methamphetamine, with a combined UK wholesale value of £17.2m, before destroying it.

• £13.2m drug bust by Royal Navy-led task force in Gulf of Oman
• Royal Navy takes command of anti-drug smuggling and illegal trafficking task force in Middle East
• Royal Navy seizes £24m of cocaine in Caribbean drugs bust

The seizure takes the haul of illicit drugs intercepted by the international task force to £36.8m since Captain Byron took control of the operation in January.

Focusing on curbing illegal and terrorist activity across two-and-a-half million square miles, the Combined Task Force 150 sees several warships from the Combined Maritime Forces patrol the vast area in the Middle East.

Capt Byron recently visited the Seychelles, one potential destination for the drugs, to discuss stopping the flow of illegal cargo into the country.

"I'm delighted that we have once again been able to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics in the northern Arabian Sea which will ultimately prevent them from reaching people in Europe, Africa and the Seychelles," he said.

"This kind of interdiction was a key topic of conversation during my visit to the Seychelles and I hope to continue this success in co-operation with our international partners."

Combined Task Force 150 is one of four task forces operating under the Combined Maritime Forces – operating under Royal Navy leadership for the 11th time.