More than £40m worth of cocaine seized by Royal Navy warship

A Royal Navy warship has seized cocaine with a street value of more than £40 million during a patrol in the Caribbean Sea.

The sixth bust by HMS Trent in 2024 means it has intercepted nearly seven tons of drugs worth £551.5 million.

Commander Tim Langford described the August 8 seizure as ‘another significant haul’.

HMS Trent was alerted to a speedboat that was suspected to be smuggling cocaine around 120 nautical miles south of the Dominican Republic.

With a US maritime patrol aircraft flying overhead, the Portsmouth-based warship closed in and dispatched the Royal Marines and US Coast Guard on board to intercept the vessel.

The smugglers were spotted hurling sealed packages overboard in a bid to prevent them falling into the hands of the authorities.

Some 506kg of class A narcotics was seized, and three alleged smugglers have been handed over to the United States authorities for prosecution.

Cdr Langford hailed the ‘successful operation with our American partners’, adding: ‘Every member of my team can be proud of another significant haul – the sixth this year.’

Armed forces minister Luke Pollard said: ‘This recent operation highlights the Royal Navy’s vital role in maintaining maritime security and upholding international law in the region.

‘We are sending a clear message to drug traffickers that nowhere is safe and we will disrupt and dismantle their operations wherever they are in the world.’

HMS Trent, which has been working closely with the US Coast Guard and the Joint Interagency Task Force (South), has now seized 6,995kg of drugs in 2024.

The ship is still patrolling Caribbean waters.

The Royal Navy said the aim is to be a reassuring presence to British Overseas Territories during hurricane season – from June to November – and to stem the flow of illegal cargo through the region.

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