“Half a battalion of Native Infantry, with a maxim gun section, left Quetta for Robat on the 3rd January, 1910, with a view to protecting the trade-route and closing the road leading through British territory to arms-runners. No attempts were made by the Afghans to make use of these routes, but as the Persian authorities made no attempt to close the routes leading through Persian Baluchistan, the Afghans experienced no difficulty in entering Afghanistan by skirting Robat and travelling a few miles to the west of that place. It is, however, satisfactory to note that several of the caravans are reported to have had to return empty owing to the naval operations referred to above.... One attempt was made during the year to land arms on the coast on the British side of the Persian boundary. A consignment, estimated at from 9500–15,000 rifles, was landed at Pishukan, near Gwadar, which is a Muscat possession within British territory. It is, however, satisfactory to note that the fate of this consignment should act as a warning to arms-runners not to make the attempt again; for 850 of these rifles were captured by a party landed by H.M.S. _Perseus_.... But for the active steps taken to check the arms traffic, the trade during the year would have attained abnormal proportions. Very large numbers of Afghans went down to the coast, and with them large numbers of Afridis and men of the north-west border tribes. Very great discouragement was caused to them by the failure of their ventures, and how far the success of our operations will diminish the number of those who will make similar ventures next year remains to be seen.” [Sidenote: Combined Operations in 1910]