Portsmouth-based warship team seizes £24m cocaine haul
HMS Medway was involved in the massive bust in the Caribbean
Crews from a Royal Navy warship based out of Portsmouth have seized more than 400kg of cocaine in a massive bust in the Caribbean.
Teams from HMS Medway worked with US Coast Guard crews to intercept a ship containing around £24 million worth of the Class A drug off the Dominican Republic.
Three crew members were detained following the chase.
It's believed the boat had come from South America, with its contents bound for sale in both North America and the UK.
After an overnight operation to secure the contraband and detain the crew, the vessel was sunk by Medway’s gunnery team to ensure it could no longer be used for illegal activities.
Chris Hollingworth, HMS Medway's commanding officer, said:
"To secure an interdiction on our first day dedicated to this type of operation in this period has been tremendous.
"Everyone involved demonstrated their professionalism during a challenging pursuit. It might be the first, but we’re going to make sure that it won’t be the last, and I speak on behalf of everyone here in saying this has galvanised our determination to succeed."
A member of the US Coast Guard team involved in the operation, who wished to remain anonymous, said:
"Although we talk of these boats being commonplace in the Caribbean, that doesn’t in any way diminish the achievement of landing a bust like this.
"Together with our partners on board Medway and up in the skies above us, we’re able to smash a hole in the supply chain and disrupt the movement of these harmful drugs before they have the chance to harm people at home and abroad."