Indian And New Zealand Navies Involved In $181m Drug Bust In Indian Ocean

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.

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.

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