Black Watch soldiers seize drugs in Afghan mission
scots battalion ‘amazed’ at discovery
Published:
SOLDIERS from the Black Watch have completed the latest in a series of daring missions in Afghanistan – seizing a tonne and a half of hashish in a raid on a bazaar in Helmand province.
The drug, which funds the Taliban insurgency, would have had a street value of about £5million in Scotland.
It was found, along with chemicals used to refine opium into heroin and large quantities of ammunition and components for making roadside bombs, in an assault on Lakari Bazaar in the district of Garmsir last week.
About 300 soldiers were flown in by helicopter in a surprise attack and spent three days searching shops and market stalls, under constant enemy fire, before destroying their haul in controlled explosions.
Private Tony Brownless, 22, from Inverness, said he and his colleagues were amazed at what they found, including complete bombs, components and a block of hashish “the size of a football”.
“I’m in no doubt that finding all of this has saved the lives of numerous people, and taking the drugs away from the Taliban has certainly reduced their ability to generate income,” he said.
Several insurgents were killed in the fighting, including a local Taliban commander. Army snipers shot dead eight men who were preparing to fire on the Scots with rocket propelled grenades and machineguns.
As the Black Watch were clearing the bazaar, in an area known as the snake’s belly – the green zone either side of the Helmand river – US Marines were setting up a base about a mile away.
Lt Col Stephen Cartwright, commanding officer of the Black Watch, said the bazaar was a hotspot for insurgency in southern Afghanistan and his soldiers had driven a wedge between the legitimate population and insurgent bomb-makers.
fear
“The long-term effect of this will be maintained by the US Marines,” he said. “This will ensure that our gains are maintained and that the local Afghan population can once again exploit the economic potential of the area without the fear of explosive devices and insurgent violence.”
The Black Watch has been involved in a series of high-profile operations since the battalion was posted to Afghanistan in March.
Only last week it was revealed that hundreds of soldiers had destroyed an intricate network of tunnels, uncovered a series of factories being used to make roadside bombs and recovered ammunition, explosives, medical supplies, communications equipment and weapons in a raid on an insurgent stronghold in Howz-e-Maded in Zhari district.
The battalion led the most difficult operation since British forces were sent to fight the Taliban when 350 Black Watch soldiers were in the vanguard of Operation Panther’s Claw in June, helping to recapture an area the size of Orkney.
Black Watch soldiers also helped seize almost quarter of a tonne of heroin earlier in their posting.
The Black Watch, which traditionally recruits from Tayside and Fife, is due to return to its HQ at Fort George, near Inverness, in November after a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, during which four members have died.
Private Kevin Elliott, 24, from Dundee, and Sergeant Stuart “Gus” Millar, 40, from Inverness, were killed in a grenade attack last month.
Corporal Sean Binnie, 22, from Kirkcaldy, died in May and 20-year-old Private Robert McLaren, from Mull, was killed in June.
The British Army’s fleet of Apache helicopter gunships are to benefit from a £439million support package, it was announced yesterday.
The Integrated Operational Support contract will boost the technical, engineering and logistic support provided to the 67-strong fleet, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Apache is used heavily in Afghanistan to hunt and destroy Taliban fighters and their bases, gather intelligence and provide cover for Chinook helicopters.
It can operate day and night in all weathers and packs a devastating punch with its 30mm chain gun as well as a payload of rockets and hellfire missiles.
The package announced yesterday is a performance-based logistics programme which is supposed to incentivise contractors to reduce costs while improving operational capability.
It has been claimed that parts shortages for the attack helicopter in Afghanistan are resulting in the cannibalising of aircraft in the UK, leading to fewer aircraft available for pilot training.
Defence Equipment and Support Minister Quentin Davies yesterday hailed the new contract with Anglo-Italian helicopter firm AugustaWestland.
He said: “It provides a more efficient way of doing business, representing excellent value for British taxpayers while sustaining and improving today’s level of service.”
