- More than $124 million worth of heroin was seized off the west Australian coast
- The huge haul was HMAS Warramunga’s seventh bust in its current location
- Crew members aboard the ship’s Seahawk chopper found the drugs February 1
Australian warship HMAS Warramunga has made another massive drug bust off the West Australian coast, seizing 414 kilograms of heroin from a smuggling vessel in the Indian Ocean.
Crew members aboard the ship’s Seahawk chopper found the drugs, worth $124 million, after intercepting it on February 1.
The HMAS Warramunga has seized and disposed 11.5 tonnes of hashish and 1.5 tonnes of heroin from seven vessels since deploying to the Middle East in November.
Australian warship HMAS Warramunga seized 414 kilograms of heroin off a smuggling vessel in the Indian Ocean on February 1
Crew members aboard the ship’s Seahawk chopper found the drugs, worth $124 million
‘As a result of this latest seizure, Warramunga has now taken more than $1 billion of narcotics out of circulation,’ Commander Dugald Clelland said on Saturday.
‘Meaning the funds raised from this sale are no longer available for use by terrorist organisations around the world.’
More than $1 billion worth of drugs have been seized by the Warramunga crew across seven different operations.
All of the confiscated drugs have been dumped at sea.
Warramunga intercepted a boat carrying more than 900 kilograms of drugs after the vessel was spotted by a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft last Wednesday.
The Air Force P-3K2 aircraft detected a suspicious vessel on January 23 and crew from Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga boarded the boat January 24, ABC News reported.
The HMAS Warramunga has seized and disposed 11.5 tonnes of hashish and 1.5 tonnes of heroin from seven vessels since deploying to the Middle East in November