In another blow to drug smugglers, Royal Navy warship HMS
Lancaster seized drugs with a street value of nearly £33m as she
struck twice against traffickers in the Middle East inside 24
hours.
Just weeks after HMS Trent struck a blow to Caribbean traffickers
by seizing £17 million of illegal narcotics, their colleagues
onboard HMS Lancaster pounced half a world away in the Indian
Ocean.
Heroin, hashish and crystal meth were found by Lancaster's
sailors and Royal Marines – with more than two tonnes of the
illegal drugs now having been destroyed.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said:
The fantastic achievements of the crew of HMS Lancaster and Royal
Marine commandos in the Indian Ocean shows the important role our
Navy plays policing the oceans. Their relentless effort and
professionalism have dealt another decisive blow to criminal
networks.
Following HMS Trent's similar success in seizing a substantial
amount of drugs on the other side of the world, the Royal Navy
continue to lead the UK's commitment to disrupting drug smugglers
across the globe.
Operating as part of the Canadian-led Combined Task Force 150,
which is dedicated to stopping criminal activity across more than
million square miles of ocean in the Middle East, HMS Lancaster
was on the very first day of her security patrol following a
period of training when her Wildcat helicopter spotted a suspect
vessel during a routine sortie.
In an operation lasting eight hours, Royal Marines from 42
Commando secured the vessel, allowing Lancaster's sailors to
board the vessel. Following an in-depth search, the team
recovered nearly 100 packages containing heroin and crystal meth.
Shortly after this success, the ship's Wildcat helicopter – from
815 Naval Air Squadron – launched a dusk patrol for another sweep
of the Indian Ocean.
Once again aircrew came across a suspicious vessel, with the ship
tracking her throughout the night, before commandos boarded in
the morning and secured the dhow before sailors joined them to
conduct another search.
This time, over six hours, they recovered 2.4 tonnes of hashish –
bringing the total haul to 3.7 tonnes of illegal drugs seized.
Collectively the tally from the two drugs hauls had a street
value of just under £33m according to the National Crime Agency.
Commanding Officer Commander Chris Sharp said:
I am exceptionally proud of the entire team in Lancaster
executing these two interdictions on the first two days of our
deployment.
Complex interceptions like these in such a challenging
environment require true teamwork across the entire ship's
company. This success is shared with our partners in CTF 150 who
provided essential support to the operation.
