Manama, Bahrain – A US Coast Guard ship seized more than US$30mn of heroin and methamphetamine from a fishing vessel transiting the Sea of Oman on Monday.

Operating in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, USCGC Glen Harris seized 580kg of methamphetamine and 35kg 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 US street value of nearly US$200mn in 2023. On April 21, US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton caught a fishing vessel attempting to smuggle US$42mn in illegal drugs while transiting the Sea of Oman. The fishing vessel was smuggling 802kg of methamphetamine and 1,000kg of hashish.

Glen Harris arrived in the Middle East last year and operates from the US Navy base in Bahrain where CMF is headquartered.

The ship is part of a contingent of US Coast Guard ships forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), which deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships alongside US 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 destabilise the region,” said Capt Eric Helgen, PATFORSWA’s commander.