U.S. Coast Guard Seizes $30 Million in Drugs

A U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter seized more than $30 million of heroin and methamphetamine from a fishing vessel transiting the Gulf of Oman, May 8.

Operating in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) seized 580 kilograms of methamphetamine and 35 kilograms of heroin from a vessel transiting international waters. CTF 150 is one of four task forces that form the world’s largest multinational naval partnership, Combined Maritime Forces.

Naval forces supporting CTF 150 have seized illegal drugs worth a combined estimated U.S. street value of nearly $200 million in 2023.

U.S. Coast Guard Seizes $30 Million in Drugs — Credits: navy.mil

Glen Harris arrived in the Middle East last year and operates from the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain where CMF is headquartered with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.

The fast response cutter is part of a contingent of U.S. Coast Guard ships forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA). PATFORSWA deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships alongside U.S. and regional naval forces throughout the Middle East.

“The dedication and expertise of Glen Harris’s leadership and crew embody our commitment to interdict and remove illicit narcotics from the sea, denying malign actors the ability to destabilize the region,” said Capt. Eric A. Helgen, PATFORSWA’s commander. “I could not be more proud of our fast response cutter crews.”

Currently led by the United Kingdom, CTF 150 conducts maritime security and counter-terrorism operations in the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean to disrupt criminal and terrorist organizations and their related illicit activities, including the movement of personnel, weapons, narcotics and charcoal. These efforts help ensure legitimate commercial shipping transits the region free from non-state threats.

U.S. and international naval units in the Middle East seized illegal drugs totaling $1 billion in value from 2021 to 2022.

Reference: Navy.mil

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