Destroyer, Coast Guard team seize $39M worth of drugs in Gulf of Oman

The destroyer was conducting a patrol in worldwide waters Might 15-16 when a U.S. Coast Guard interdiction group launched a flag verification boarding of a fishing vessel.
Mc3 Lily Gebauer/USCG/Cowl Imag

The guided-missile destroyer Momsen and a U.S. Coast Guard group seized roughly $39 million price of methamphetamine in the Gulf of Oman this week.

The Momsen was conducting a patrol in worldwide waters Might 15-16 when a U.S. Coast Guard interdiction group launched a flag verification boarding of a fishing vessel. The destroyer was working beneath Mixed Activity Pressure 150, a part of Mixed Maritime Forces that the U.S. leads and consists of 34 nations. CTF-150 is considered one of 4 activity forces now working within the Mideast to counter maritime threats.

“The vessel was interdicted whereas transiting worldwide waters alongside a route traditionally utilized by prison organizations to smuggle individuals, weapons, narcotics and charcoal,” the Navy stated in a information launch. “Crew members tried to discard greater than 60 bales of the seized medicine as Momsen approached.”

The fishing vessel’s 9 crew members, who stated they have been Iranian nationals, are headed to a “regional nation for repatriation” whereas the illicit medicine and vessel are nonetheless in U.S. custody, the Navy stated.

The Navy ramped up weapon and unlawful drug seizures in U.S. fifth Fleet final yr. In accordance with the service, the U.S. Navy and companion forces seized greater than $193 million price of unlawful medicine final yr in fifth Fleet. That totaled the next whole worth than the quantity confiscated within the previous 4 years mixed.

Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, informed Navy Occasions the earlier file for whole worth of medicine seized within the previous seven years was $70 million in 2018. The rise is attributed to further presence within the area.

“We've enhanced our presence and vigilance throughout regional waters,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S. fifth Fleet and Mixed Maritime Forces, stated in a January information launch. “This displays our continued dedication to confront destabilizing actions that disrupt the rules-based worldwide order which underlies maritime safety within the Center East.”

A handout photograph launched by the US Defence Visible Info Distribution Service (DVIDS) exhibits a MH-60R Seahawk offering aerial help to an interdiction group from guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92) seizing a fishing vessel within the Gulf of Oman on Might 16, 2022.

DVIDS/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

Mixed Activity Pressure 150 has seized $130 million price of heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine capsules and cannabis this yr.