Royal Navy seizes more than £10million of drugs in the Indian Ocean

Royal Navy seizes more than £10million of drugs after boarding two ships within 12 hours while patrolling the Indian Ocean

• Frigate found more than seven tons of hashish, heroin and methamphetamine
• HMS Lancaster also worked with US Navy to support a vessel being ‘harassed’

A Royal Navy warship seized more than £10m of drugs after Marines boarded two ships in the Indian ocean and Gulf within 12 hours, discovering tonnes of narcotics in dawn and dusk raids.

HMS Lancaster had a busy weekend as it carried out the searches on two suspect vessels, and also worked closely with the US Navy to support a merchant vessel reporting harassment.

The Type 23 frigate captured more than seven tons of hashish, heroin and methamphetamine across the two operations, which were part of the ship’s security patrol of the region, where she is deployed on a long-term mission.

In the first call as part of a dawn mission, the ship’s specialist Royal Marines boarding team found 3.5 tons of narcotics after tracking down a suspect vessel since the early hours of the morning.

That evening, the ship’s Wildcat helicopter spotted another craft and the boarding team sprang into action once again to seize a further 3.7 tons and complete the impressive double drugs bust.

HMS Lancaster’s specialist Royal Marines boarding team found 3.5 tons of narcotics after tracking down a suspect vessel. They later found a further 3.7 tons of drugs

Bags of the drugs from one of the raided vessels were laid out, with members of the ship’s crew posing in front of the haul

The huge scale of the drugs bust was laid bare, with dozens of bags of narcotics put out across the ship’s deck

These latest captures come after Lancaster seized a stash of hashish worth £2.5m last month.

The impressive hauls were pictured laid out on the frigate, with dozens of bags covering much of the deck.

The sheer scale of the stockpile was also laid bare by pictures of the piles of narcotics being transported on the suspect boats.

Once recovered, members of the armed forces posed with the bags, which later went on to be destroyed so the narcotics they contained would never enter the market in Britain or elsewhere.

Commander Tom Johnson, the ship’s Commanding Officer, said: ‘I am immensely proud of my entire team for their efforts in successfully executing two boardings, in challenging conditions, and inside of 12 hours.

‘This comes less than a day after concluding an intense period of maritime security operations in the Straits of Hormuz. 

One of the suspect vessels which teams of specialist Royal Marines were pictured boarding

The two operations were part of the ship’s security patrol of the region, where she is deployed on a long-term mission

More than £10m of drugs after Marines boarded two ships in the Indian ocean and Gulf within 12 hours

‘It was a real team success; bringing together the efforts of my team with those of a vast range of international support organisations who have all worked tirelessly to achieve this result.’

Operations in the Straits of Hormuz involved US and UK sailors coming to the aid of a ship, which the US Navy said had been ‘harassed’ by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

A Navy spokesperson said: ‘The situation de-escalated approximately an hour later when the merchant vessel confirmed the fast-attack craft departed the scene. The merchant ship continued transiting the Strait of Hormuz without further incident.’ 

The Strait of Hormuz is a particularly volatile region, with the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf seeing around 20 per cent of the world’s oil pass through it.

It is widely considered the most important chokepoint for the global energy economy, and is plagued by piracy as well as geopolitical tensions.

After the first drugs bust in the region over the weekend, samples were taken and the drugs, with a UK wholesale value of £5.5m, were destroyed.

During the boarding operation there were indications the vessel had started its journey from the Iranian coast, before embarking the drugs at sea from another vessel.

With one successful seizure complete, it was not long before Lancaster was called upon again – this time with her embarked Wildcat helicopter spotting the suspect boat.

A large quantity of packages found on the suspect vessel were confirmed to be hashish

The sheer scale of the stockpile was also laid bare by pictures of the piles of narcotics being transported on the suspect boats

The Wildcat was patrolling surrounding seas acting as the ship’s eyes when they called in suspicious activity. 

The helicopter is one of many tools Lancaster employs while conducting operations at sea.

They can relay real-time information back to the ship’s control centre for the Commanding Officer to make decisions.

As the sun set over the Indian Ocean, the frigate’s boarding team, having only just reset from the previous boarding, sprang into action to do it all again.

A large quantity of packages were found on the suspect vessel and were confirmed to be hashish.

A total of 376 bags were recovered, weighing 3.7 tons and with a UK wholesale value of just over £4m. 

The sacks later went on to be destroyed so the narcotics they contained would never enter the market in Britain or elsewhere

After the first bust, samples were taken and the drugs, which have a UK wholesale value of £5.5m, were destroyed

The second haul means HMS Lancaster has now prevented 10.4 tons of illegal narcotics from reaching the streets this year.

Deputy UK Maritime Component Commander in Bahrain, Captain Will Paston, added: ‘The technical expertise, tactical proficiency, steadfast professionalism, and investigative thoroughness were evident throughout the entire boarding process.

‘These seizures were a direct result of the countless hours of dedication by HMS Lancaster and the wider supporting team in Bahrain.’

Lancaster later worked closely with aircraft from the US Navy to provide overwatch for a merchant vessel, which reported harassment by a number of small vessels.

Lancaster’s crew launched their Wildcat helicopter to assess the situation and provide a real time feed to the ship’s Commanding Officer. The small craft dispersed and the merchant vessel was able to continue on its way.

The Navy say the ship is part of the UK’s enduring presence in the Middle East and is on a three-year mission to work with allies to support maritime security and to counter illegal activity.

HMS Lancaster recently played an integral role in helping to evacuate British nationals from Sudan after violence broke out in the north African country between rival military factions.

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