463kg of Afghan-origin meth worth $21m seized in US-Pakistan operation

ISLAMABAD: US and Pakistani authorities have seized approximately 463kg of crystal methamphetamine worth $21 million in a coordinated operation targeting an Afghan-origin narcotics network, the US Embassy in Islamabad said on Monday.

In a statement, the embassy said that the seizure took place on August 30 as the embassy’s Drug Enforcement Administration office (DEA Islamabad) coordinated with Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to make this seizure, in cooperation with Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau and DEA’s New Delhi office.

Between August 14 and 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 mentioned.

“This prompted ANF to alert DEA Islamabad, which worked with authorities across the countries involved to seize the narcotics and to arrest several suspects, including those of Pakistani origin.”

The embassy mentioned that the US government has provided foreign assistance to support sustained training of ANF, enabling it to serve as a “key partner in advancing US priorities in counternarcotics interdiction”.

The United States remains committed to working with Pakistan to dismantle transnational criminal organi[s]ations to protect US citizens from the dangers of narcotrafficking […] The Trump administration has made halting the flow of illicit narcotics a key component of helping make America more secure.”