Royal Navy seizes £24m of cocaine during Caribbean raid before blowing smugglers’ boat to pieces

Royal Navy commandos have seized £24million of cocaine during a dramatic raid which ended in the narcotic gang’s boat being blown to bits. 

The 400kg haul of drugs was discovered by patrol ship HMS Medway in the Caribbean during a joint operation with US Coast Guards, who had a team embarked on the warship. 

Medway charged down the drug gang’s boat during a tense chase near the Dominican Republic before a boarding team leapt onto the vessel and detained three smugglers.

Then, after unearthing the cocaine, Medway’s gunnery team used the 2,000-tonne warship’s lethal array of machine guns to pulverise the smugglers’ boat, leaving it a flaming wreck before it sank. 

It is the second time this month that British commandos have sniffed out drug smugglers in international waters, after a Royal Navy frigate seized a record-breaking £15.5million worth of narcotics from a vessel in the Arabian Sea in early October. 

HMS Montrose targeted the small vessel after the ship’s Wildcat helicopter tracked the movements of the suspect boat.

A British commando keeps a watchful eye over the narcotic gang’s boat from the HMS Medway in the Caribbean Sea 

The smuggling boat was left a flaming wreck after being caught by Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Medway during a dramatic £24million drugs bust in the Caribbean

The Caribbean-based Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Medway and US Coast Guard boarding team seized more than 400kg of cocaine worth around £24m (haul pictured) 

The vessel was intercepted by Medway as part of a joint mission between the Royal Navy and US Coast Guard to tackle drug runners in the Carribean

After detaining the boat’s three crew and removing them from the vessel, the boarding team from Medway discovered 400kg of cocaine hidden on the boat. Pictured is a sailor from HMS Medway shooting at the vessel after the drugs had been seized

HMS Medway, pictured in front of the blazing wreck of the boat, is permanently based in the Caribbean 

The empty boat was later used as target practice by Medway’s crew. The vessel’s destruction is normal for this sort of operation, the navy said. It means the boat can’t be used again to transport narcotics 

Royal Navy plagues drugs gangs all over the world with bust after bust – seizing almost £71million in 2022

HMS Montrose (pictured is her team of sailors and Royal Marines)  with their £15.5million worth of drugs (bottom centre) from a dhow in the Arabian Sea in its fifth narcotics raid this year

Since the start of 2022, the Royal Navy has seized a whopping £70.8million of drugs during a string of high-profile busts across the world.

January 23: In the Royal Navy’s first bust of the year, HMS Montrose seizes more than a tonne of drugs in the Gulf of Oman worth £15million.  The Type 23 frigate bagged 663kg heroin, 87kg methamphetamine and 291kg hashish and marijuana­.

January 27: Days later and Montrose deals another huge blow to Middle Eastern drug runners, this time storming a boat carrying £8million of narcotics. Royal Marines found 150Kg of heroin, 250Kg of methamphetamine and 665Kg of hashish 

March 6: The Royal Navy scores its heaviest drugs bust in more than a decade as HMS Montrose captured a 6.5-tonne haul of hash in the Middle East worth £6.5million. 

May 12: Montrose notches her fourth capture of the year, this time securing 90kg of heroin in the Gulf of Oman worth an estimated £1.8million. 

October 9: Frigate HMS Montrose seizes 870kg of crystal methamphetamine, worth £15.5million, during a bust in the Arabian Sea. 

October 28: Patrol ship HMS Medway makes her first bust of the year, capturing a £24million haul of cocaine in the Caribbean.  

A boarding party of Royal Marines searched the vessel and found 870kg of crystal methamphetamine in a secret compartment following the six-hour operation. 

The latest bust by HMS Medway brings the Royal Navy’s total drug seizure tally up to £70.8million this year – and £582million since 2020.

Commander Chris Hollingworth, Medway’s captain, was full of praise for his crew – and insisted the warship would continue to hammer criminal gangs in the Caribbean. 

‘Everyone involved demonstrated their professionalism during a challenging pursuit,’ he said.

‘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.’

Several large packages containing cocaine were seized and brough aboard Medway, along with the three suspected smugglers. 

It’s believed the boat had come from South America, a common route taken by smugglers at this time of year.

The National Crime Agency estimated its illegal cargo was worth an estimated £24million.

The destruction of the vessel, which is normal for this type of operation, ensures it is no longer used for illegal activity while also providing target practice for Medway’s gunnery team. 

‘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,’ said a member of the boarding team, US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 404, who wishes to remain anonymous.

‘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.’ 

Since 2020, the Royal Navy has seized £582million worth of drugs from gangs operating in the Middle East, Indian Ocean and Caribbean. 

Defence officials believe much of the cash used from the sale of the narcotics would fund terror groups like Islamic State. 

News of the Senior Service’s drug-busting record has been welcomed by a former head of the Royal Navy.

Admiral Lord Alan West, who served as First Sea Lord between 2002 and 2006, told MailOnline: ‘This is actually an amazing quantity and very striking. 

‘What this shows – and people forget this – is the Royal Navy and Britain is a global power and the Royal Navy is a global force.’ 

Since the beginning of 2020, HMS Medway has been deployed to the Caribbean as the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the region. 

Commander Chris Hollingworth, Medway’s captain, was full of praise for his crew. He is pictured with 400kg haul of drugs seized in the Caribbean 

The boat is believed to have travelled from South America with its illegal cargo of cocaine

The seizure brings the total value of drugs captured Royal Navy warships across the globe so far this year to almost £71million. Pictured is one of Medway’s sailors sinking the drug boat

The vessel was sunk by the Royal Navy to stop it again being used to smuggle drugs through the Caribbean

A British commando watches on as the narcotics vessel begins to sink after being blown up 

The smugglers’ vessel is seen ablaze and charred after being destroyed by the Royal Navy in the Caribbean sea 

The ship and her 50-strong crew recently helped the people of the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos in their recovery efforts following Hurricanes Ian and Fiona.

‘It’s a perfect example of Medway’s versatility, and demonstrates my team’s ability to shift from Disaster Relief Operations to Counter Illicit Trafficking Operations without missing a beat,’ added Cdr Hollingworth.

‘I’m exceptionally proud of the collective effort of my ship’s company and our colleagues from the US Coast Guard for their proactive attitude and total commitment to the task.’

Since the start of 2022, the Royal Navy has seized a whopping £70.8million of drugs during a string of high-profile busts across the world.  

The haul from the crystal meth bust in the Arabian Sea in early October broke records after recording a wholesale value of £15.5 million, according to the National Crime Agency.

It overtakes the previous record haul from 2019, when HMS Defender found 131kg of crystal meth from a dhow sailing in the Gulf of Oman.

A navy spokesman said: ‘HMS Montrose pounced after her Wildcat helicopter located and tracked the suspect dhow until the frigate was in range to launch her boarding teams in her boats.

A boarding party of Royal Marines (pictured boarding the suspect dhow) searched the vessel and found 870kg of crystal methamphetamine in a secret compartment following the six-hour operation in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month

The previous crystal meth haul from the Arabian Sea (pictured being accounted and tested for) had a record-breaking wholesale value of £15.5 million, according to the National Crime Agency

‘Royal Marines from 42 Commando, the UK military’s specialists in these operations, seized control of the vessel in choppy conditions, before sailors moved in to search the craft for any illegal cargo, while overhead the Wildcat observed proceedings and provided cover for those scouring the dhow for her illicit cargo.

‘Persistence from the boarding team led to a secret compartment being found aboard the vessel, revealing hidden illegal narcotics.

‘The haul was brought back to the frigate for inspection and weighing.’

HMS Montrose, which has been based in the Middle East since 2019, has intercepted narcotics worth nearly £47 million this year.

Commander Claire Thompson, the frigate’s commanding officer, said: ‘We have disrupted the unlawful use of the oceans.

‘A seizure of this size will deal a huge blow to the criminal or terrorist gangs using these illegal narcotics to fund their activity.

‘This success proves we will persistently deny criminals the freedom to conduct their illegal activity on the high seas. Disrupting terrorist organisations, criminals and their funding lines is key to keeping to UK, and rest of the world, safe.

‘It is a privilege to command HMS Montrose and the incredibly professional, highly-trained and dedicated personnel that I have on my team. I could not be prouder of each and every one of them.’