Kiwi-led task force CTF 150 has seized 385kg of heroin from a fishing boat in the Arabian Sea.
The haul was discovered by US Coast Guard personnel onboard two Navy ships on December 27. They had been conducting a flag verification boarding because the vessel appeared to be stateless.
The drugs, which were destroyed at sea, were valued at US$4 million ($5.86 million).
But Royal New Zealand Navy Captain Brendon Clark, the commander of CTF 150, said the street value of narcotics was always much higher than the figures reported.
"This latest seizure is a demonstration that CTF 150 and assigned surface and air assets are ready to conduct interdiction operations 365 days a year," he explained.
"From a New Zealand perspective, had the narcotics from all of the seizures from New Zealand's time in command made their way to New Zealand, they would have a street value of $2.36 billion."
CTF 150 is one of three task forces under Combined Maritime Forces which has increased regional patrols to disrupt unlawful maritime activity, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) says.
In 2021, the task force seized drugs worth more than US$193 million ($282.6 million) at regional wholesale prices during counter-narcotics operations at sea - a higher total than had been intercepted in the previous four years combined.
"CTF 150 conducts maritime security operations outside the Arabian Gulf to ensure that legitimate commercial shipping can occur freely. Its mission is to disrupt criminal and terrorist organisations and their illicit activities, including the movement of people, weapons, narcotics and charcoal," the NZDF says.
"The New Zealand-led multinational team took over command of CTF 150 from Canada earlier in 2021 and will command and staff the CTF 150 until early 2022."
