Ship with US$30m of drugs seized in Arabian Sea

MANAMA - A ship carrying US$30 ($41.29) million worth of drugs which could have been intended to fund terror groups was intercepted in the north Arabian Sea, the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain said.

The ship, named Al Zahidi, was carrying 2.6 tonnes of hashish, said the statement received by Reuters. It did not mention the ship's nationality or details of its voyage.

"(Some) 128 bales of the drug, with an estimated street value of more than $30 million, were found on the dhow," the statement said, referring to a traditional wooden vessel used in the Gulf region. It did not say where the ship was now.

The operation was carried out by a US-led maritime task force patrolling the Horn of Africa, North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman to combat international terror organisations using the world's oceans, the statement said.

- REUTERS