Coalition Troops Snatch 30 Tons Of Drugs

Coalition warships seized 30 tons of narcotics over five months on Gulf patrols, cutting off possible funds for insurgents in Afghanistan, the U.S. Navy said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Navy said the drug busts along the region's so called "Hash Highway" in the Persian Gulf were largely due to successful operations of the U.K. Royal Navy. Its marines and sailors intercepted 70 percent of the total narcotics haul.

Drugs seized over five months included hashish, opiates, cocaine and amphetamines, the statement said.

The U.S. Navy believes that had the illegal substances reached their final destination they "could have helped fund the insurgency fighting the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan."

The British warships involved in the operations were frigates HMS Chatham, HMS Montrose and Fand destroyer HMS Edinburgh. They were supported by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary helicopter support ship Argus and her embarked Sea King aircraft, the statement said.

The commander of Royal Navy in the Middle East Commodore Keith Winstanley said the trafficking of illegal drugs has been "one of the gravest threats to the long term security of Afghanistan and a vital source of funding for the Taliban warlords."

By seizing narcotics, the Coalition forces, patrolling the Gulf and headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, have dealt "a significant blow to the illegal trade," Winstanley said.