LONDON, CMC – The British Royal Navy on Thursday stated its patrol ship HMS Trent seized £160 million (1GBP = US1.28) of cocaine from a “narco-sub” within the Caribbean Sea.
In eight drug busts in seven months, the Portsmouth-based patrol ship has stopped practically £750 million of narcotics reaching the streets of the UK or wherever else, the British Royal Navy stated.
It stated Trent’s newest operation, alongside the US Coast Guard and a US Maritime Patrol Plane, was the primary “narco-sub” it has ever intercepted.
“The ship’s boarding staff – comprising US Coast Guard personnel, Royal Marines from 47 Commando, and specialist sailors – clambered aboard the semi-submersed vessel in waters 190 nautical miles south of the Dominican Republic,” the Royal Navy stated. “The staff seized 2,000kg of cocaine with a road worth of £160m, placing yet one more blow to the Caribbean medicine commerce.”
HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, stated: “It has been a busy but rewarding eight months for Trent whereas deployed to the Caribbean, and this newest seizure reinforces the utility of Royal Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessels in delivering this very important tasking.
“My expert staff and our embarked USCG Regulation Enforcement Detachment fought difficult situations to interdict this semi-submersible – hardly ever seen within the Caribbean – and have been rewarded with one other report haul,” he added. “These operations are a staff effort and require involvement from each single member of my crew no matter their typical function – they are often extraordinarily happy with what they’ve achieved.”
The Royal Navy stated this eighth medicine bust came about on August 26, simply 72 hours after Trent’s final profitable interdiction through which 462kg of cocaine price £37m was seized.
About 90 nautical miles north of the place they stopped the narco-sub, the Royal Navy stated a high-speed night-time pursuit by Trent’s sea boats noticed two suspects and 12 bales of medicine seized, able to be handed over to US authorities.
The Royal Navy stated HMS Trent continues to patrol the Caribbean as “a reassuring presence to British Abroad Territories throughout hurricane season (from June to November) and to stem the move of unlawful cargo via the area.”
The ship not too long ago visited the British Virgin Islands, repairing Tortola after Tropical Storm Ernesto had handed via the area.
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