ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Coast Guards and Pakistan Navy seized a large consignment of narcotics worth around $110 million during a joint intelligence-based operation in Gwadar, officials said on Saturday.

According to a spokesperson for the Pakistan Coast Guards, the operation was carried out in the mountainous terrain of the Jiwani area, where smugglers had concealed the drugs in an apparent attempt to move them out of the country through sea routes.

During the raid, authorities recovered 1,050 kilograms of hashish or hash and 200 kilograms of methamphetamine (ice) hidden in the mountains.

Officials said the seized narcotics had an estimated international market value of about $110 million and were intended to be smuggled to foreign destinations via maritime routes.

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The spokesperson said the Pakistan Coast Guards remain committed to curbing drug trafficking and dismantling networks involved in the illicit trade.

“Drug smuggling networks systematically generate financial resources for terrorist organisations, making their elimination imperative,” the spokesperson added.

Pakistan’s geographic location makes it a key transit route for international drug trafficking, according to the Anti-Narcotics Force. Traffickers are increasingly adopting sophisticated concealment methods, hiding narcotics in everyday items such as sports goods, surgical instruments and textile shipments to evade detection.

Transnational drug trafficking has increasingly evolved into a sophisticated global enterprise, exploiting gaps in enforcement, porous borders and weaknesses in supply chains to move narcotics across countries.

Experts say criminal networks rely on facilitators in multiple jurisdictions, conceal drugs in everyday items and rapidly adapt their routes and methods to evade detection, making coordinated international enforcement crucial.