On Friday, the U.S. Navy missile cruiser USS Monterey seized an illicit shipment of advanced weapons from a stateless dhow in international water of the North Arabian Sea, according to the statement of US Naval ForcesCentral Command.
"The cache of weapons 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 rocket-propelled grenades launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights," the Bahrain-based fleet said in a statement.
Thousands of illicit weapons interdicted by guided-missile cruiser @USSMonterey (CG 61) from a stateless dhow in international waters of the North Arabian Sea on May 6-7.
Cache of weapons included advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles & Chinese Type 56 assault rifles. pic.twitter.com/07Fv92vbrV— U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) May 8, 2021
It added that the materiel is in the U.S. custody awaiting final disposition, while the original source and intended destination of the material is under investigation.
“After all illicit cargo was removed, the dhow was assessed for seaworthiness, and after questioning, its crew was provided food and water before being released,” the statement said.