£30m worth of drugs seized by Royal Navy in Middle East operation
A Royal Navy frigate seized drugs worth £30 million in a significant operation in the Middle East.
HMS Lancaster stalked a drug-runner's boat in the Arabian Sea for more than 24 hours after the illegal operations were spotted by the warship's drones.
It deployed its Wildcat helicopter to oversee the operation involving a boarding team from 42 Commando which seized 80 packages of narcotics.
A Royal Navy spokesman said the haul was made up of 1,000kg of heroin, 660kg of hashish and 6kg of amphetamine, worth an estimated £30 million on UK streets.
He said: 'It's the second bust in three months for the British warship, which is based in Bahrain and is attached to a New Zealand-led international task force spread across the Indian Ocean hunting down illegal activity.
'And it's the second time the Royal Navy's new Peregrine drones – mini-helicopters that conduct reconnaissance sorties for hours on end and feed live information back to Lancaster's operations room – have played a vital part in the success.'
Chris Chew, Lancaster's commanding officer, said: 'This is another example of where Lancaster has delivered at range, in isolation, utilising her own organic assets.
'Whether they come in the form of her Wildcat, our uncrewed air system Peregrine, embarked intelligence team or her Royal Marine boarding team, they delivered on operations in support of the Combined Maritime Forces and New Zealand-led Combined Task Force 150.'
Luke Pollard, the Armed Forces minister, said: 'I congratulate the crew of HMS Lancaster on this significant seizure, which is keeping dangerous and illegal drugs off our streets.
'This operation highlights the unique role our Royal Navy contributes, working to disrupt criminal operations around the world, keeping us secure at home and strong abroad.'
In March, the Royal Navy used drones for the first time in a drug bust when HMS Lancaster intercepted smugglers in the Indian Ocean who were trying to move 3.7 tons of heroin, hashish and crystal meth.
Royal Marines on board HMS Lancaster located the drug smugglers after Peregrine remote-controlled mini-helicopters were launched from the flight deck.
The drones are so-called because they aim to mimic the tactics of peregrine falcons, which scan for their prey at altitude.
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