Royal Navy warship seizes almost £33m of drugs in two raids in the Middle East
HMS Lancaster has seized drugs worth millions of pounds from traffickers in the Middle East after two daring raids.
Royal Marines were deployed from the Royal Navy warship and successfully recovered, and later destroyed, £33m worth of heroin, hashish and crystal meth.
"I am exceptionally proud of the entire team in Lancaster executing these two interdictions on the first two days of our deployment," said Commanding Officer Commander Chris Sharp.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "The fantastic achievements of the crew of HMS Lancaster and Royal Marine commandos in the Indian Ocean shows the important role our Navy plays policing the oceans.
"Their relentless effort and professionalism have dealt another decisive blow to criminal networks.
"Following HMS Trent's similar success in seizing a substantial amount of drugs on the other side of the world, the Royal Navy continue to lead the UK's commitment to disrupting drug smugglers across the globe."
In an operation lasting eight hours, Royal Marines from 42 Commando secured the vessel, allowing Lancaster's sailors to board the vessel.
The team recovered nearly 100 packages containing heroin and crystal meth.
Shortly after this result, the ship's Wildcat helicopter – from 815 Naval Air Squadron – launched a dusk patrol for another sweep of the Indian Ocean where another vessel was spotted and seized.
This successful mission follows on from a successful £17m drug bust conducted by HMS Trent in the Caribbean.
Commander Sharp added: "Complex interceptions like these in such a challenging environment require true teamwork across the entire ship's company.
"This success is shared with our partners in CTF 150 who provided essential support to the operation."
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