Crew on Portsmouth warship seize over £200m of cocaine in Caribbean
Over 2.5 million tonnes of the class A drug was seized in HMS Trent's third drugs bust this year
The crew onboard a Portsmouth-based warship has seized over £200m worth of cocaine in the Royal Navy's latest drugs bust in the Caribbean Sea.
HMS Trent chased down suspected smugglers after being alerted by a US maritime patrol aircraft.
Cocaine bales were thrown into the sea, with sailors on HMS Trent working overnight to recover the bales.
Over 2.5 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of £204m, was seized.
The latest seizure is the third that HMS Trent has been involved in so far in 2024.
£511m worth of drugs have been seized in the raids, as part of the ship's deployment to hunt drug smugglers and uphold security and international law in the Caribbean.
HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, said:
"The combined capabilities of the ship, the embarked US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and our 47 Commando coxswains have proven once again the utility of our ship in countering narcotics smuggling.
"Working seamlessly to complete another covert take down, Trent and her crew continue to achieve unparalleled success in intercepting traffickers."
The Royal Navy has been involved in disrupting criminal drug activity across the world, with the crew onboard HMS Lancaster seizing £33m worth of drugs in the Gulf earlier this year.
Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps said:
"I’d like to congratulate the crew of HMS Trent for this latest bust, but also for their incredible work over the previous 5 months, seizing large amounts of drugs and disrupting global drug networks.
"The Royal Navy continue to show that those who seek to profit from illegal drugs face the full force of justice, wherever they are in the world."