Royal Navy deals ‘hammer blow’ to drug traffickers as cocaine worth £500m seized

The UK Ministry of Defence said the actions of the patrol ship had severely impacted the worldwide cocaine trade, as the crew of the vessel had now stopped £511million worth of drugs from reaching the streets of Britain and many other countries.

This latest operation came after HMS Trent was alerted to potential smugglers by a United States maritime patrol aircraft, and used her powerful radars to track down the suspicious vessel.

With the Royal Navy ship closing in, the vessel started throwing bales of cocaine into the sea to try to evade capture.

The crew of the Royal Navy ship was then involved in a protracted operation to recover the bales.

The extensive search and recovery operation ran throughout that night, with the crew eventually recovering more than 2.5 tonnes of cocaine.

UK 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.

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“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.”

The MoD said that following a double bust earlier in the year, where nearly £300million of narcotics was seized, HMS Trent had given a “decisive blow to drug networks across globe”.

Trent has been deployed in the Caribbean Sea since December, specifically to hunt drug smugglers, maintain maritime security and uphold international law in the region.

Along with assets from the US and other nations, the River class patrol ship has so far seized 6,390kg of cocaine.

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.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said that along with their success in the Caribbean, the Royal Navy had simultaneously been disrupting criminal gangs halfway across the world, with HMS Lancaster seizing £33million worth of drugs in the Gulf earlier this year.