Big Drug Bust

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P3K Orion crew located two suspect dhows in the Arabian Sea on 18 December. Patrol aircraft from Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States then tracked the dhows for the next forty-eight hours. With a Royal Air Force Nimrod patrolling overhead, the USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) intercepted the boats on 20 December. Approximately 150 pounds of methamphetamines were found on the first dhow. Meanwhile, the second dhow attempted to escape. A US Navy P-3C Orion crew videotaped that crew throwing approximately 200 bags overboard while they fled. The second dhow was caught, and one fifty-pound bag and one thirty-five pound bag of what is believed to be pure heroin were discovered.