An American move to secure the waterways of the Middle East

In a new move to secure waterways in the Middle East, the US Central Command’s Naval Forces have, for the first time, adopted a program that offers rewards to individuals who voluntarily provide information that leads to the confiscation of illegal goods such as drugs or weapons, and supports counter-terrorism operations.

The rewards, which fall under the Department of Defense rewards program and exclude US citizens, include cash prizes of up to $100,000, and non-cash prizes that include boats, vehicles, equipment, or food.

Under this rewards program, those who have information and wish to provide it can call through a special phone line or the dedicated website in different languages ​​(Arabic, English, Farsi, Dari, Pashto, etc.); The information is then checked for accuracy and assessed whether it meets the reward criteria.

The rewards program comes to enhance efforts to secure Gulf waters in particular. The Central Command announced a rise in seizures of illegal goods in the Middle East last year, after US and international forces doubled their patrols in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

In 2021, US Fifth Fleet warships confiscated three times as many illegal arms shipments as in 2020, equivalent to 9,000 weapons. The US-led Combined Maritime Forces also seized narcotics shipments with a market value of nearly $500 million, more than in the past four years combined.
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