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The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Elite Royal Marines pose with £30m worth of seized illegal drugs after storming smuggler's dhow
ELITE Royal Marines stormed a smuggler's dhow and seized £30 million worth of drugs, it has been revealed. Commandos boarded the vessel under the gaze of a Royal Marine sniper who circled overhead in a Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter. 2 2 The troops found 80 bags of illegal drugs including a tonne of heroin. The Navy said: 'The haul came to 1,000kg heroin, 660kg hashish, and 6kg of amphetamine – worth an estimated £30m on UK streets.' The crew of the frigate HMS Lancaster had tracked the dhow with Peregrine spy drones – mini helicopters – as it crossed the Arabian Gulf towards Africa. The warship remained hidden beyond the horizon for over 24 hours before closing in on the dhow and scrambling its boarding teams in fast attack boats and launching the Wildcat helicopter. The Navy said it 'pounced on a drug runner in the Middle East' during the daring High Seas mission. It said: 'After secretly shadowing the suspect through the Arabian Sea for more than 24 hours, frigate HMS Lancaster struck by sea and air to bring the dhow's voyage to a halt. 'Under the watchful gaze of a Royal Marines sniper circling overhead in the frigate's Wildcat helicopter, the boarding team of 42 Commando closed on the vessel in a pincer movement.' Commander Chris Chew, the ship's captain, said: 'This is another example of where Lancaster has delivered at range, in isolation, utilising her own organic assets.' Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard hailed the 200 strong crew for a 'significant seizure, which is keeping dangerous and illegal drugs off our streets'. The warship was serving as part of a taskforce led by New Zealand's Navy to 'disrupt criminal and terrorist organizations' by seizing drugs, guns and illicit goods at sea. Commodore Rodger Ward, the Kiwi commander, hailed the 'tenacity, training and professionalism' of the Royal Navy.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Portsmouth Royal Navy warship seizes £30m of drugs in Middle East
A Royal Navy warship has swooped in on a vessel which was carrying £30m worth of illegal Lancaster, which is based in Portsmouth when not on active service, seized the one and a half tonne load of narcotics while at sea in the Middle secretly shadowed the suspect through the Arabian Sea for more than 24 hours before it is the second bust in three months for the British frigate, which is currently in Bahrain. A Royal Marines sniper circled overhead in a wildcat helicopter, while a boarding team of 42 Commando closed in on the drug runner in the water, in what the Royal Navy described as a pincer drones were also deployed, providing live footage to the Lancaster's operations room. When onboard the dhow the team discovered 80 packages containing illicit narcotics, in a haul that came to 1,000kg of heroin, 660kg of hashish and 6kg of amphetamine. Commanding Officer Commander Chris Chew said the success was down to the work of the 210 men and women in HMS Lancaster's for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard thanked the sailors and Royal Marines for their success."I congratulate the crew of HMS Lancaster on this significant seizure, which is keeping dangerous and illegal drugs off our streets," he said."This operation highlights the unique role our Royal Navy contributes, working to disrupt criminal operations around the world, keeping us secure at home and strong abroad."HMS Lancaster is a Type 23 frigate deployed to the Middle East region on a long-term mission as part of wider efforts by the UK to provide regional maritime security and team has even had time to rescue orphaned kittens that were found under a shipping container. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
