HMAS Ballarat tallies four drug busts in three days in Middle East

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac-class frigate HMAS Ballarat has seized another four illicit drug shipments in three days while deployed to the Middle East region.

The four boardings took place from June 2 to 5 as the frigate conducted a routine patrol in the Arabian Sea in support of the Combined Maritime Forces.

The drug seizures included a large quantity of hashish and illegal narcotics weighing a combined total of 5.8 tonnes or a haul similar in size to five family-sized motor vehicles.

The suspicious vessels, known as dhows, were believed to be engaging in illegal activity when Ballarat‘s crew conducted the boardings under the authority of Combined Task Force 150.

The recent hauls now brings the total number of seizures by Ballarat to 14 during its nine-month deployment to the region that began in October 2018.