Black Watch help to destroy Taliban drugs

Jun 23 2009 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

BRAVE Perthshire soldiers recently helped destroy a major Taliban drug centre during a series of night raids in Afghanistan.

Around 450 troops from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3SCOTS) – working alongside 100 Afghan Army soldiers – discovered more than 5500kg of opium paste during two separate helicopter-borne strikes in Helmand province

The operation destroyed ten narcotic manufacturing facilities. As well as the opium, it netted 220kg of morphine, more than 100 kg of heroin, 148 kg of cannabis plus a range of chemicals used in the drug production process.

The Perth-based regiment also seized eight AK-47 machine guns, three pistols, 16 full magazines and 900 rounds of ammunition.

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Cartwright, the Commanding Officer of 3 SCOTS, said: “This has been an important operation against the illegal narcotics industry and represents a significant setback for the insurgency in Helmand province.

“The 3 SCOTS battle group provided the wider security to the professional and courageous Afghan security forces who have destroyed a considerable amount of narcotic material.

“The link between the insurgents and the narcotics industry is proven.

“Militants use the money derived from the drug trade as a principle source of funding to arm themselves with weapons and conduct their campaign of intimidation and violence.

“By destroying this opium and drug-making facilities we are directly targeting their fighting capability – something which has been well received by the Afghan people,” he said.

3SCOTS and the Afghan National Army battled through fierce Taliban defence after landing in the dead of night in the upper Sangin Valley, 20km south of Kajaki, dodging machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

They quickly uncovered several heroin “laboratories” and netted a large quantity of opium in the villages of Nangazi, Banekza and Sar Puzeur.

Platoon Sergeant Rab McCready said: “Landing on a helicopter site under contact at night could have been dangerous and confusing.

“I was very proud of the way the 3SCOTS gripped the situation. The training just kicked in,” he said.

In temperatures of 45 degrees, the Battle Group continued into the following day before leaving the desert after spending more than 30 hours on the ground.

A second airborne raid was launched around the villages of Chahardah and Bustanzay.

Lieutenant Harry Pierce, 7 Platoon Commander, Bravo Company, said: “This was the hardest operation we've conducted, a real test of endurance.

“The Afghans led the break-in and they were on the ball. 3SCOTS were outstanding in confusing and complex terrain and against well conceived and 360 degree insurgent attacks,” he said.

One 3 SCOTS soldier received a gunshot wound to the arm. He was attended to by TA soldier Private Stuart Turner (29), from Aberdeen.

He said: “I was about 10 metres away when he went down. The important thing was to get him out of contact, which was made harder because we couldn't locate the enemy sniper.

“Fortunately our doctor wasn't more than 100 metres away and got to him pretty quickly,” he said.