Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), working with US and Sri Lankan authorities, has seized around 463kg of crystal methamphetamine worth $21 million in an operation targeting a narcotics network linked to Afghanistan, the US Embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday.
The seizure was made on August 30, with several suspects, including Pakistani nationals, arrested in the operation, the embassy said.
The operation followed the detection of suspicious containers by Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), which identified consignments due to be shipped from Pakistan to Colombo between August 14 and 29.
The ANF’s Port Control Unit in Karachi suspected that the containers were carrying narcotics originating in Afghanistan.
The force then alerted the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Islamabad, prompting coordination with law-enforcement authorities in the countries involved, according to the embassy.
Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau and the DEA’s New Delhi office also participated in the operation, the statement said.
The coordinated action resulted in the seizure of approximately 463kg of crystal methamphetamine, valued by the US Embassy at $21 million.
The embassy said the operation reflected cooperation between agencies in Pakistan, the US and Sri Lanka to disrupt transnational narcotics trafficking.
Washington DC has provided foreign assistance to support continued training for ANF personnel, according to the statement.
The support has helped the Pakistani force serve as a “key partner in advancing US priorities in counternarcotics interdiction”.
The United States said it remained committed to working with Pakistan to dismantle transnational criminal organisations and counter the trafficking of illicit drugs.
“The Trump administration has made halting the flow of illicit narcotics a key component of helping make America more secure,” the embassy retained.
