A Royal Navy warship deployed in the Caribbean has seized cannabis and cocaine with a street value of £58million in two busts just days apart.
The seizure of 400kg of cocaine and almost 1.2tonnes of marijuana in the separate raids has been praised as another “fantastic success” for the ship, which has carried out four major drugs busts in as many weeks and six so far during her deployment.
In the most recent bust, HMS Lancaster’s Lynx helicopter chased a fast-moving speedboat, disabling it, and collected 17 packages of cocaine that had been dumped in the water.
Days before, sailors on the Portsmouth-based warship recovered marijuana weighing almost 1.2tonnes after it was ditched by a speedboat in the middle of a violent thunder storm.
Announcing the latest success, the Royal Navy said at a wholesale price the cocaine would be worth just over £17million and the cannabis around £1.1million – but at street level the values would be nearer £58million.
Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said: “We should be extremely proud of HMS Lancaster’s actions in the Caribbean and efforts to disrupt the supply of illegal, life-destroying drugs.
“This is another fantastic success for the ship’s company.
“Their constant hard work and professionalism is a great international advert for the Royal Navy.”
In the most recent incident, which happened at the start of the month, the ship was alerted to suspected traffickers by a Canadian tanker which had spotted a speedboat in the western Caribbean.
HMS Lancaster launched its Lynx helicopter to pursue the boat, prompting the suspected drug runners to dump the drugs.
A Royal Marine sniper in the helicopter disabled the boat by shooting a hole in the engine, allowing the US Coastguard team to apprehend those on board.
The HMS Lancaster crew and US Coastguards retrieved 17 large packages from the water, which were later found to be pure cocaine.
HMS Lancaster’s commanding officer, Commander Steve Moorhouse, said: “Hopefully this bust will make those who choose to smuggle narcotics in the region think twice.”