U.S. and Pakistani authorities have seized approximately 463kg of crystal methamphetamine worth $21 million in a coordinated operation targeting an Afghan-origin narcotics network, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the embassy said the seizure took place on Aug. 30 following coordination between the embassy’s Drug Enforcement Administration office and Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force, in cooperation with Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau and DEA’s New Delhi office.
Between Aug. 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, read the statement. “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 U.S. government has provided foreign assistance to support sustained training of ANF, enabling it to serve as a “key partner in advancing U.S. priorities in counternarcotics interdiction.”
The United States remains committed to working with Pakistan to dismantle transnational criminal organizations to protect U.S. 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,” it added.