The U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Sunday it had seized a huge cache of illicit Russian and Chinese weapons from a dhow sailing in the international waters of the Arabian Sea.
"The weapons cache included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and grenade launchers," he said. -she said in a press release.
A discovery during a routine boarding
The cruiser USS Monterey intercepted the dhow and discovered the cargo during a routine boarding, during an operation on May 6 and 7, said the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.
The origin of the weapons, now in the custody of the United States, as well as their intended destination are under investigation, she added.
“After all illegal cargoes were removed, the dhow was assessed for seaworthiness, and after questioning, its crew was given food and water before being released,” said the Fifth Fleet.
The latter did not specify where the ship might have come from, but US Navy patrols in the region regularly act against "the transport of illicit cargoes which often finance terrorism and illegal activities".
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