Yemen foils smuggling of 4 tons of Hashish for Houthis
Yemeni coastal forces intercepted an Iranian ship carrying over 4 tons of drugs off the coast of Al-Mahra Governorate, the easternmost part of the country, on Thursday.
A source in the Yemeni coastal forces said that the forces managed to seize a ship in the town of “Sayhut” in Al-Mahra Governorate, carrying over 4 tons of “hashish.”
The source explained that the ship was seized in Yemen‘s territorial waters, and it had five Iranian sailors on board, who were handed over to the relevant authorities according to the governorate’s leadership’s instructions.
Regarding the destination of the shipment, the source indicated that it is “believed that the shipment was destined for the Houthi militias inside Yemen,” especially as it was seized on a smuggling route frequently used by the Houthi militias to smuggle drugs and weapons. The investigations are still ongoing to obtain more details.
This is the second Iranian smuggling ship to be intercepted in Yemen‘s territorial waters since April 6th last year, after the Yemeni coastal forces successfully seized another ship carrying over 3 tons of hashish and six individuals of Iranian nationality en route to the terrorist Houthi militias.
On November 19th last year, the Yemeni coastal forces announced the seizure of a smuggling ship for the Houthi militias that was on its way from Somalia to the vital Hodeidah port on the Red Sea.
The Yemeni and American navies also intercepted a massive drug shipment on November 8th and 10th last year aboard an Iranian ship off the coast of Socotra, as well as another shipment of explosives in the Arabian Sea on the same smuggling route.
During 2021 and 2022, joint Yemeni-American efforts led to the seizure of more than 36 Houthi smugglers in 10 operations targeting sailing boats and Iranian ships directly seized by the US Fifth Fleet or the Yemeni coastal forces.
