UK sailors and Royal Marines have seized £290.66m of drugs in two narcotic busts in the Caribbean Sea.
Personnel on HMS Trent worked alongside the US Coast Guard to recover more than 3,000kg of cocaine and other class-A drugs being smuggled on speedboats in the region.
HMS Trent’s fast sea boats and a US patrol aircraft tracked down and chased a suspected smugglers’ speedboat south of the US Virgin Isles, recovering more than 2,700kg of cocaine and other drugs, with an estimated street value of £220.56m.
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It was the offshore patrol vessel’s (OPV) second bust in just three weeks, having seized £70.1m of cocaine as part of a separate operation in January.
Royal Marines coxswains and the US Coast Guard (USCG) boarding team took control of a vessel and detained four crew members, who tried to offload their illegal cargo during a high-speed chase.
The OPV’s 60 crew members searched 24 sq miles of ocean for the narcotics, and eventually retrieved almost 900kg of cocaine.
A Royal Marine who took part in the operation, but cannot be named for operational reasons, said: “This was a challenging operation and required us to push the boats to their limit.
“Despite their best efforts to evade us, they finally gave up the chase and we were able to get alongside and enable members of the US Coast Guard to seize the vessel.”
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “This operation sends a clear message: The Royal Navy remains resolute in its efforts to disrupt and dismantle the operations of drug traffickers across the world.
“We will continue to ensure that those who seek to profit from illegal drugs face the full force of justice.
“I’d like to congratulate the ship’s company for their invaluable work keeping illegal drugs off our streets.”
HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, said: “The achievements of this ship and her crew in the last nine months have been spectacular, and it is brilliant to see the hard work and dedication of this amazing team paying off.
“The team is rightly proud of their efforts, and those of our USCG colleagues.”