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Australian warship seizes 151 kg of heroin: media

Xinhua, December 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

An Australian warship has made its second major drug bust during operations off the east coast of Africa.

A boarding party from HMAS Melbourne found 151 kilograms of heroin, estimated to be worth 44.5 million Australian dollars, after the crew of a fishing vessel raised suspicions that they might have been engaged in illegal activity, local media reported late Friday.

The seizure is the second for the Australian warship, which is on its eighth deployment as part of Australia's maritime security operations in the Middle East region, following the discovery of 427 kilograms of heroin aboard another smuggling vessel in October.

The seizure of the drugs has significantly curtailed the funding of terrorism in the region, which comes from the illegal trade of narcotics, HMAS Melbourne officer Commander Bill Waters said.

Waters said the smugglers went to considerable length to conceal the drugs using hidden compartments inside the vessel. Endit