HALIFAX-BASED FRIGATE SEIZES DRUG-LOADED BOAT

HMCS Toronto Then Sinks Vessel

Ottawa - A Canadian warship patrolling the Arabian Sea on Wednesday seized
an abandoned vessel carrying an estimated two tonnes of hashish and later
teamed with an American ship to sink the boat in an impromptu target practice.

HMCS Toronto was in international waters off Pakistan watching for
suspected terrorists trying to flee the region when she sighted a dhow, a
traditional wooden vessel, towing a speedboat.

As the Halifax-based frigate approached, two men jumped from the dhow into
the speedboat and took off. The speedboat quickly outran the Toronto, which
turned back to investigate the dhow, by then chugging in slow circles.

"That's a hazard to navigation, so we decided to board her," Cmdr. Ian
Paterson, the Toronto's captain, said Thursday in a telephone interview. A
five-member boarding party clambered aboard the 15-metre boat and found
that one of the holds held 20 packages about the size of cement blocks,
each wrapped in blue plastic.

They cut one open and found it stuffed with bricks of hash, each stamped
with the words Freedom for Afghanistan.

"We brought back two of the bags and they weighed 50 pounds (22.5
kilograms) apiece," Paterson said.

The captain was worried about booby traps and told his crew to keep out of
a second hold, which was stacked with similar packages. He estimated there
were 70 to 90 packages in all.

The Canadian frigate reported its find to the American naval commander in
charge, put a line on the dhow and towed it south overnight.

On Thursday morning, the Toronto and her prize met the American cruiser USS
Leyte Gulf and they were ordered to sink the vessel with its cargo.

The ships took turns blasting the vessel. The Toronto used her main
armament, a 57-mm cannon, and the Leyte Gulf fired heavy machine-guns.

They chewed at the vessel for two hours before it sank in flames.

The Toronto's shells left the dhow awash, but the cruiser put it down.

"Wooden vessels are amazingly robust," Paterson said. "You can hit it with
a shell and frequently the shell will pass right through but the wood stays
afloat.

"It took literally hundreds of rounds from the Leyte Gulf, explosive
rounds, which set it on fire.

"When Leyte Gulf was finished, there was nothing left. It was unbelievable."

Paterson said his ship has been doing a variety of jobs since joining other
Canadian and American warships in the Arabian Sea. The frigate left Nova
Scotia on Dec.5.

Last week, he said, the Toronto was assigned as a plane guard for a U.S.
aircraft carrier, standing by to rescue any aviators who might go into the
sea while trying to land.