HMS Montrose captures $8.5 million in Bahraini hemp

The British Navy frigate HMS Montrose captured an illegal stash of hashish worth millions of dollars in Bahrain this weekend. It is the third drug seizure by the crew this year alone and the ninth since the ship began its extensive region in the area three years ago. The Navy believes the Montrose intercepted over $125 million during that period. This loot is the biggest of them all – it represents the biggest bust in about a decade.

A global transit hub for trade

For those unfamiliar with geography, the Gulf of Oman is the neck of water that allows the Persian Gulf to empty into the Arabian Sea. Pakistan lies at the upper estuary of the Gulf. Despite its seething cannabis reform, the country is a major transit point for the international drug trade.

Bordered by Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west, with a 500-mile border with China, Pakistan not only has a long history with the cannabis plant, but also has literally thousands of kilometers of porous borders that drug traffickers take full advantage of, Shipping hashish and heroin worldwide.

Most illicit cannabis and hash shipped through Pakistan (which has a strict zero-drug policy that still extends to high-THC cannabis) originates from Afghanistan. A 2020 UN report estimates that up to 40 percent of illicit heroin and hashish shipped through Pakistan comes from its northern neighbor. The country is also a major transit point for heroin, which is illegally shipped to China.

The International Cannabis Silk Road

Both heroin and hashish travel out of Pakistan through different routes. When shipped, they typically travel northwest toward and through the Persian Gulf, then overland through Arab states, are shipped again in the Mediterranean, and finally end up in Europe. Drugs shipped south to the Persian Sea generally end up in Africa via Tanzania. From there it is usually overland across the continent to Nigeria and finally to North America or Europe.

There is a strong link between jihadism and organized crime when it comes to the illicit drug trade in this part of the world. As of last year, the Taliban also seem to be changing course when it comes to cannabis, which they see as a potential legal export crop that could bring in much-needed foreign currency after the secular government is overthrown.

While legal export sales are banned as a result of the Taliban takeover, nothing prevents them from further exploiting existing illegal trade opportunities.

Legalization of cannabis in Bahrain and the region

Cannabis and hemp have long been used in this part of the world, although thanks to American and British influence they have been made illegal. In 1997, the Narcotics Control Act specifically made the cultivation, manufacture, manufacture, extraction, preparation, possession or sale of cannabis illegal in Pakistan.

That hasn’t stopped groups like the Taliban from publicly condemning their use, but illegally selling both cannabis and heroin to support their existence.

Things have changed thanks to global legalization in the second decade of the 21st century. As of September 2020, the federal government approved the legalization of hemp production. The policy change came in response to the global movement to legalize the plant and because Pakistani government officials saw a multi-billion dollar market potential for hemp exports to their country.

Of course, this also makes the seizure of cannabis plants and products more difficult. The first legal hemp harvest was in December last year. In October, Pakistan’s Minister of Science and Technology pledged to implement a national cannabis policy by the end of 2021.

Finally, beyond the naval ban, proving the effectiveness of cannabis normalization in Pakistan could be the last and most effective way to prevent criminals from profiting from the current black market trade, which is clearly not over yet.