Canadian Navy ship HMCS Regina successfully disrupted a narcotics shipment during a patrol in her designated area of operations in the Indian Ocean on March 31, as part of Operation ARTEMIS.
HMCS Regina’s crew intercepted and boarded a dhow off the east coast of Africa and discovered 132 packages of heroin weighing 132 kilograms in total.
The illicit narcotics were subsequently seized, documented and later destroyed at sea, thereby ensuring that they would not reach their intended recipients.
This was the first drug seizure for HMCS Regina as part of her maritime security and counter-terrorism operations at sea in the Indian Ocean during Operation ARTEMIS.
“HMCS Regina’s narcotics disruption during Op ARTEMIS demonstrates the Government of Canada’s resolve to help rid the region of activities that serve as a threat to maritime security and commerce while keeping illicit narcotics off Canadian streets,” said The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence.
“This successful drug seizure is a result of the patience and perseverance displayed by the ship’s company of HMCS Regina throughout our participation in Op ARTEMIS. It is also a credit to our collective capability to work together with our CTF 150 partners to respond in a timely and effective manner to threats to maritime security and commerce in the region,” said Commander Dan Charlebois, Commanding Officer of HMCS Regina.
Op ARTEMIS is Canada’s contribution to Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), a multinational maritime task force combating terrorism across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.
[mappress] Press Release, April 4, 2014; Image: Wikimedia