Pakistan Navy Seizes $96 Million Drug Haul in the Arabian Sea
Pakistan Navy ship Yarmook has seized drugs worth about $96 million in the Arabian Sea, the military said this week. The haul is the latest in a string of large drug busts by the Navy in the busy sea lanes off the country’s coast.
The drugs came from two separate operations carried out far from the shoreline. Naval personnel stopped two small wooden boats, known as dhows, and searched them. Inside hidden compartments, they found large quantities of crystal meth, also called ice, along with hashish and cannabis.
The raid far from shore
The military’s media wing, ISPR, gave details of the operation in a statement on Wednesday. It said the Navy was working at long distances from the coast as part of its effort to stop drug smuggling by sea.
The two dhows were intercepted and boarded by naval teams. The search turned up around 850 kilograms of ice and close to 2,000 kilograms of hashish and cannabis, all packed into concealed spaces inside the boats.
“The seized narcotics were taken into custody and will subsequently be handed over to concerned authorities for further disposal and legal proceedings,” the statement said.
President Asif Ali Zardari praised the Navy for the successful operations. In a statement, he said the Navy had played an important part in stopping illegal activity in the country’s sea areas and protecting the region’s waters. He also spoke of the Navy’s continued watchfulness and readiness to prevent drug smuggling at sea.
A pattern of big seizures
This was not a one-off success. The Navy has been active against sea smugglers all year.
Last month, Navy ships Hunain and Yarmook seized more than 2,800 kilograms of drugs worth an estimated $750 million in a joint operation in the Arabian Sea. That haul was one of the largest the Navy has made.
In June, the Navy recovered close to 2,000 kilograms of drugs, including 1,500 kilograms of hashish and 500 kilograms of ice, near the Gwadar coast. Those drugs were valued at around $215 million on the world market.
And in October last year, the Navy seized drugs worth more than $972 million from sailboats operating in the Arabian Sea.
Put together, the numbers show a steady fight against traffickers who use the sea to move their goods.
A key smuggling route
The Arabian Sea sits on one of the world’s busiest drug smuggling routes. Traffickers use small boats to carry drugs from producing areas toward markets in the Gulf, Africa, and beyond. The boats are cheap, hard to track, and the sea is vast.
That is why the Navy’s role matters. By patrolling far from the coast and boarding suspicious boats, it can break up supply lines before the drugs reach their buyers.
Naval officials say these operations also help the country’s standing in the region. A secure sea means safer trade, and Pakistan’s ports, including Gwadar and Karachi, depend on clean, safe shipping lanes.
What happens next
The drugs from this week’s operation are now in Navy custody. They will be handed over to the relevant authorities, who will dispose of them and take legal action against those behind the smuggling.
The Navy says its ships will keep patrolling the Arabian Sea and stopping suspicious boats. With traffickers still active, more operations are expected in the months ahead.