Portsmouth Royal Navy warship seizes more than £40m of cocaine in Caribbean Sea

Royal Navy drugs bust by Portsmouth based HMS Trent Credit: PA Media

Cocaine with a street value of more than £40 million has been seized by a Royal Navy warship in the Caribbean Sea.

The Royal Navy said it is the sixth drug bust made by HMS Trent in 2024, and it has seized close to seven tons of drugs worth £551.5 million from traffickers.

HMS Trent’s commanding officer Commander Tim Langford described the latest bust on August 8 as “another significant haul”.

HMS Trent was pressed into action in this latest operation after being alerted to a speedboat that was suspected to be smuggling cocaine around 120 nautical miles south of the Dominican Republic.

The smugglers threw their cargo overboard in a failed attempt to avoid all the contraband from being captured Credit: LPhot Matt Bradley/Royal Navy/Crown Copyright 2024/PA

With a US maritime patrol aircraft flying overhead, the Portsmouth-based warship closed in and dispatched the Royal Marines and US Coast Guard on board to intercept the vessel.

The smugglers threw their cargo overboard in a failed attempt to avoid all the contraband from being captured.

Some 506kg of class A narcotics was seized, and three alleged smugglers have been handed over to the United States authorities for prosecution.

Cdr Langford hailed the “successful operation with our American partners”, adding: “Every member of my team can be proud of another significant haul – the sixth this year.”

This is HMS Trent’s sixth interception this year, bringing the total amount of drugs seized to £551.5 million. Credit: LPhot Matt Bradley/Royal Navy/Crown Copyright 2024/PA

Armed forces minister Luke Pollard said: “This recent operation highlights the Royal Navy’s vital role in maintaining maritime security and upholding international law in the region.

“We are sending a clear message to drug traffickers that nowhere is safe and we will disrupt and dismantle their operations wherever they are in the world.”

HMS Trent, which has been working closely with the US Coast Guard and the Joint Interagency Task Force (South), has now seized 6,995kg of drugs in 2024.

The ship is still patrolling Caribbean waters.

The Royal Navy said the aim is to be a reassuring presence to British Overseas Territories during hurricane season (from June to November) and to stem the flow of illegal cargo through the region.

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