DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A Norfolk-based Navy ship seized about four tons of hashish being transported aboard a boat off the Horn of Africa.
The Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said on Tuesday that guided missile cruiser USS Anzio stopped the skiff after a brief chase in the Gulf of Aden. It was initially spotted about 170 miles southwest of Salalah, Oman.
Waters in the area are used by ships headed for the Suez Canal and are also infested by Somali pirates and smugglers. U.S. forces have dubbed the stretch of the Indian Ocean the "Hash Highway."
The Navy says the seizure occurred Oct. 15, while the Anzio was leading a multinational anti-pirate task force in the region. It says the drugs have a street value of $28 million, and could have helped fund insurgents in Afghanistan.
"The seizure of these drugs takes money out of the hands of those financing terrorists in the region," said Rear Adm. Scott E. Sanders, Commander, Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, embarked aboard Anzio. "Yesterday these sailors were hunting pirates, today they have sent a message to all would-be smugglers that we won’t tolerate pirates or drug traffickers in these waters."
Anzio has been deployed for five months, according to Navy spokesman Nate Christensen, and is the flagship for CTF-151.
