Royal Navy warship stops £35 million drug shipment in Middle East
The warship fired shots at a speedboat in order to stop drugs being transported
A Royal Navy ship has helped to stop a consignment of drugs worth £35 million from being transferred across the Gulf of Oman.
The drugs were being carried over in a speedboat and was travelling at speeds of over 40 knots - equivalent to around 46 miles per hour - when it was intercepted.
Snipers working on the boat used a helicopter stationed on the ship to deliver a shot to the speedboat's engine, knocking it out of use.
This is the first time that snipers have had to be drafted in in order to help neutralise a suspicious boat in the Gulf region, and was branded by the Navy as one of the most "dramatic counter-drugs intercepts in the Middle East".
HMS Lancaster had first picked up the suspicious activity in its vicinity, launching the Wildcat helicopter on a dawn patrol over the body of water.
The crew soon found three skiffs acting suspiciously as they speeded through the waterway and opted to follow the boats whilst bringing information about the situation back to the warship.
After secretly hiding from view, the helicopter eventually revealed itself, prompting the crew of the boats to hurl their cargo into the sea in order to pick up speed.
Eventually, two skiffs were abandoned, while the third was eventually stopped after a single bullet was shot into its engine.
In total over 1.5 tonnes of drugs, including heroin, hashish and crystal meth were found by officers, with a street value of around £35 million.
Speaking on the interception, Commander Sam Stephens, Commanding Officer of HMS Lancaster, said he was proud of his team's ability to stop a huge incident in the Gulf.
"This operation saw Lancaster’s crewed and uncrewed aircraft working hand-in-glove under the direction of the ship’s operations room.
"The outcome was a highly-successful bust, removing large quantities of narcotics from the streets and preventing their profits from fuelling extremism."