Originally published : https://www.eurasiareview.com/26112025-pasni-to-pemba-how-fast-transit-dhows-from-pakistan-are-shortening-narcotics-delivery-times-oped/
If you study the dhows intercepted across the western Indian Ocean over the past five years, a peculiar trend becomes visible. The vessels are still wooden, still traditional in appearance, and still operated by small crews. Yet beneath their familiar exterior, many of these boats have undergone quiet but significant modifications. Their fuel tanks are extended. Their internal compartments are rearranged. Their hull balance is adjusted to allow longer voyages. Their engines are tuned or replaced.
The effect is subtle enough to escape casual inspection, but obvious to anyone who tracks maritime smuggling corridors.This adaptation is not accidental. It is the result of a deliberate shift in how narcotics networks operate from Pakistan’s Makran coast.These networks have begun relying on fast transit dhows designed for endurance and efficiency rather than pure concealment. Their goal is to shorten delivery timelines, reduce exposure at sea, and increase the number of successful voyages. The routes now stretch from Pasni and Gwadar toward Oman, down toward Somalia, across to Tanzania, and sometimes deeper into the Mozambique Channel.
One reason for this shift is pressure. Increased surveillance by India, Sri Lanka, CMF Bahrain, Seychelles, and Kenya has forced traffickers to rethink how they move cargo. Slow moving dhows were easy to track. Their routes were predictable. Their fuel limitations forced them into known refuelling points. Modernised dhows, however, break that pattern. They can travel farther without stopping. They can take detours. They can rendezvous with boats already at sea without drawing attention.
These modifications are visible in the seizures published by CMF Bahrain. Some dhows carried narcotics in compartments that looked more like modular storage systems than improvised hiding spaces.Others had unusual insulation around their internal hulls. Some had reinforced wooden frames that allowed them to handle heavier loads or rougher seas.These indicators show a level of planning that goes far beyond the image of small time fishermen smuggling drugs for extra income. Another striking detail is the design uniformity. Several seized dhows share similar construction characteristics, which suggests a limited number of boatyards or workshops are being used to customise them.
These facilities are likely located somewhere along the Makran coastline where state oversight remains weak. The consistency points to an organised supply chain rather than scattered improvisation.Fuel logistics explain another part of the puzzle. Traditional dhows cannot store enough fuel for the long journeys traffickers now attempt. Modified dhows, on the other hand, incorporate auxiliary tanks or repurposed storage compartments. This allows them to expand their operational range into East African waters. It also reduces the need for refuelling from deep sea trawlers, which often draw unwanted attention due to irregular movement patterns.Faster dhows with extended range allow traffickers to bypass some of the choke points created by Indian and Sri Lankan patrols.
The shift in transit strategy also changes delivery patterns. Earlier, drugs were commonly offloaded near intermediate islands. Now, some dhows move directly toward their destination ports. The faster transit reduces the number of at sea interactions, which are typically the most vulnerable moments for traffickers. It also shortens the time during which the cargo is exposed to detection. The difference between a fifteen day voyage and a nine day voyage is significant when navies are actively monitoring regional routes.
Another layer of complexity comes from how these dhows blend into regular maritime traffic. Thousands of small vessels traverse the Arabian Sea at any given moment, and many follow similar paths. A modified dhow that behaves almost like a fishing vessel but travels faster becomes difficult to identify without deeper behavioural analysis. This is why maritime analysts often rely on subtle indicators such as route straightness, speed stability, absence of fishing activity, and unusual night time movement. Modified dhows frequently trigger these indicators.For countries in East Africa, these upgrades create serious challenges. Ports in Kenya and Tanzania have become major destinations for narcotics smuggled from Pakistan. Faster dhows mean larger volumes can be delivered in shorter cycles, overwhelming coastal enforcement. When these drugs enter local markets, they fuel addiction, crime, and instability. They also feed into wider transnational networks that connect African markets to Europe and the Middle East.India, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Kenya have adapted by increasing patrol overlap and sharing information more rapidly.But the mobility that modified dhows now possess means traffickers can shift their routes with little warning. That mobility is reinforced by Pakistan’s permissive coastal regulation. Boat construction yards remain unregulated. There is no rigorous vessel inspection regime. Deep sea licences, as discussed in the earlier article, offer legitimacy without oversight.Together, these factors give traffickers an environment where innovation thrives.
The rise of fast transit dhows gives us fundamental, and raw information. Pakistan’s maritime narcotics trade is no longer an opportunistic enterprise run by isolated groups but an evolved and structured system with engineering input, logistical planning, and clear operational goals. When traffickers can upgrade vessels, adjust routes, shorten delivery cycles, and bypass multiple regional navies, it reflects the scale at which the system operates.
This trend also exposes the limits of Pakistan’s public narratives. Each time a seizure is reported, the official statements emphasise individual culpability. Yet the boats themselves tell a different story. Wooden hulls do not redesign themselves. Carpentry workshops do not independently decide to create hidden storage. Standard dhows do not spontaneously develop extended range. Someone has to financing these modifications, (which are quite costly) coordinating the networks, and ensuring consistency across vessels.
Until Pakistan addresses the infrastructure behind these upgrades, the corridor from Pasni to Pemba will remain one of the most active narcotics routes in the region. And each seizure by India, Sri Lanka, or CMF partners will point back not simply to individual traffickers, but to a system that Pakistan has failed to regulate.
