Posted on 01/02/2004 10:30:11 AM PST by freeperfromnj
U.S. Navy Seizes Small Boat Carrying $11 Million Worth of Hashish Near Persian Gulf
WASHINGTON Jan. 2 The U.S. Navy has seized another small boat carrying drugs near the Persian Gulf after interrogating smugglers with suspected links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, the military announced Friday. The boat seized on New Year's Day was the fourth drug-smuggling vessel intercepted by Americans in the past two weeks in or near the Persian Gulf. Pentagon officials say they believe all four boats, which were carrying hashish, heroin and methamphetamines, are part of a drug smuggling operation which funnels money to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
An American search of the boat, a wooden vessel called a dhow, found about 2,800 pounds of hashish with an estimated street value of $11 million, according to a statement from the Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain.
U.S. Navy ships including the USS Port Royal, USS Peleliu and USS Germantown stopped the boat Thursday in the northern Arabian Sea, said Cmdr. James Graybeal, a 5th Fleet spokesman. Searchers found the drugs Friday under blocks of ice and in hidden compartments in the vessel, he said.
Fifteen people aboard the dhow are being held by the Navy aboard the Peleliu, an amphibious assault ship which carries the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Let me remind you that YOU first posed the question, and that I answered the question merely to show that I personally, don't have a dog in this fight! If you can't accept my answer, then stop being so damned nosy by posing such questions in the first place.
The only reason that I responded to that question is to show that as a non-smoker, non-drinker, non- recreational drug user I could really care less about those vices being banned. I don't see anything in the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights that gives you a Constitutional Right to smoke, get drunk, or get high. So, unless you can enlighten me on this issue you should probably quit while you're ahead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.