Pakistan and the United States have seized approximately 463 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, valued at $21 million, in a coordinated operation targeting an illicit narcotics network originating in Afghanistan, the US Embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the embassy said the seizure took place on August 30 after its Drug Enforcement Administration office in Islamabad (DEA Islamabad) coordinated with the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), in cooperation with Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau and the DEA’s New Delhi office.
“Between August 14-29, ANF’s Karachi-based Port Control Unit identified containers scheduled for transport from Pakistan to Colombo, which ANF suspected to be carrying illicit narcotics that originated in Afghanistan,” the statement said.
Read: ANF says Afghan drug network disrupted, 671kg of meth seized
The identification of the containers prompted the ANF to alert DEA Islamabad, which worked with authorities across the countries involved to seize the narcotics and arrest several suspects, including those of Pakistani origin, according to the embassy.
The embassy said the US government had provided foreign assistance to sustain training for Pakistan’s ANF, enabling it to serve as a key partner in advancing US priorities in counternarcotics interdiction.
“The Trump administration has made halting the flow of illicit narcotics a key component of helping make America more secure,” it said.
The United States remained committed to working with Pakistan to dismantle transnational criminal organisations to protect US citizens from the dangers of narcotrafficking, the statement added.
