HMCS Charlottetown interdicts hash smugglers

First booze smugglers (Halifax Chronicle Herald story), and now drugs:

A Canadian frigate deployed in the Arabian Sea seized almost four tonnes of hashish from a Pakistani vessel last week after receiving intelligence that the small fishing boat was linked to terrorist activities.

Lt.-Cmdr. Mike Davie of HMCS Charlottetown said Wednesday that about 20 crew members boarded the Al Moula Madad on Feb. 18 following a tip that the traditional sailing vessel was tied to unnamed terrorist groups.

In an interview from the warship, Davie said the crew discovered a massive cache of the potent-smelling drug after peeling back decking and peering into hidden compartments in the vessel's fuel tanks.

"Once they started finding that stuff, they knew where to look and we eventually found quite an amount," he said from the Persian Gulf. "We had a happy crew that day, that's for sure."

Davie, the ship's executive officer, refused to reveal what terrorist groups the vessel might have been linked to or what kinds of activities they might have been engaged in.

Charlottetown was commanding eight coalition vessels and five aircraft off the coast of Pakistan as part of the ongoing anti-terrorist Operation Altair.

Davie said crew were allowed on board by some of the 11 men who were repairing fishing nets on deck, but found nothing on an initial search that took several hours.

As they began tearing up deck planks that appeared to have been laid recently, he said they discovered dozens of white bags about the size of large pillow cases stuffed in the underbelly of the boat.

They also found them in the fuel tanks, eventually uncovering 173 bags of hash that weighed about 70 kilograms each.

He said the boarding and seizure took about 17 hours to complete.

A Pakistani coast guard vessel, which had jurisdiction over the boat, apprehended the vessel and crew after the Charlottetown dumped the hash into the ocean.

The drug seizure was the largest for the coalition forces to date and the first one since a smaller operation in 2005.

Davie said crews of the fishing boats, known as dhows, have become sophisticated at hiding contraband and are being used increasingly to transport illegal goods.

"They have gotten into a very good routine and they're also very good at concealing their cargo," he said.

Charlottetown deployed to the Arabian Sea from its home port of Halifax last November to join the continuing U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom.

Davie said the crew boarded another vessel in January, seizing a supply of illegal alcohol.

CF story with photos and video link is here. More on the Charlottetown's patrol here, here, and here.