Plymouth-based Royal Navy frigate seize drugs worth £65 million

Royal Navy and Royal Marines Boarding team, with Cdr Ian Feasey, Commanding Officer, HMS Monmouth (centre) and the recovered drugs haul. Credit: Royal Navy

A Plymouth-based Royal Navy frigate has seized £65 million worth of drugs.

HMS Monmouth was on patrol in the Indian ocean when it spotted a ship in the area not normally known for fishing.

Crews quickly boarded the boat and spent 60 hours scouring the vessel for drugs before eventually finding them hidden in a freezer beneath three tonnes of ice.

The crew destroyed more than half a tonne of heroin and cocaine.

HMS Monmouth - the Black Duke - with the intercepted fishing dhow and her seaboats in the background. Credit: Royal Navy

The commanding officer said it was a significant blow to the international drugs trade.

The Ship's Company of HMS Monmouth recovering the seized illicit drugs for accounting on board the Frigate before destruction. Credit: Royal Navy

Once all the drugs had been photographed by the Royal Navy Police on board HMSMonmouth, the packages were disposed of in the sea ensuring no profits can be made from them.