Warramunga strikes again – 8 tonnes of hashish

The crew of Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga has intercepted two vessels and seized approximately eight tonnes of hashish valued at approximately $400 million during operations in international waters of the Arabian Sea.

CAPTION: HMAS Warramunga boarding team member Able Seaman Aaron Richardson climbs onto a vessel of interest. Photo by Leading Seaman Tom Gibson.

Warramunga has now seized 19.5 tonnes of hashish and 1.5 tonnes of heroin, valued in excess of $1.43 billion* since deploying to the Middle East in November 2017.

On 3 March Warramunga’s Seahawk helicopter crew detected a vessel of interest during surveillance operations.

A boarding party searched the vessel, uncovering 4.1 tonnes of illicit cargo.

The Seahawk crew then detected a second vessel of interest and the subsequent boarding and search operation resulted in the seizure of an additional 3.9 tonnes of illegal narcotics.

Commanding Officer of HMAS Warramunga Commander Dugald Clelland said he had been continually impressed with the crew’s determination and professionalism.

“This has been a high-tempo deployment for HMAS Warramunga but we have been fortunate in seeing significant quantities of narcotics not reach their final destination as a result of the efforts of the crew and the CTF 150 team,” he said.

“Preventing the movement of these narcotics not only potentially saves lives, it also deprives terrorist and other criminal organisations of $1.43 billion in revenue, which allows us to degrade the effectiveness of these organisations.”

 

 

Commander Joint Task Force 633 Rear Admiral Jaimie Hatcher said the achievements of Warramunga and her crew reflected a longstanding legacy of success by the RAN in the region.

“This is the 66th rotation of a Royal Australian Navy vessel in the region since 1990 and the continual successes of Warramunga during her rotation builds upon the foundation of commitment our Navy has shown to the region for nearly three decades,” Rear Admiral Hatcher said.

The narcotics were transferred to Warramunga and will be disposed of at sea.

 

RELATED STORIES:

• 27-29 December 2017: 8 tonnes hashish, 69kg heroin, (from three vessels)
• 3 January 2018: 3.5 tonnes hashish
• 7 January 2018: 111kg heroin
• 24 January 2018: 915kg heroin [watch video]
• 1 February 2018: 414kg heroin
• 3 March 2018: hashish, approx 4.1 tonnes (this story)
• 4 March 2018: hashish, approx 3.9 tonnes (this story)

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