MARINES based in Scotland seized a consignment of of cannabis and heroin worth tens of millions of pounds after storming a suspicious vessel in the Indian Ocean.
The soldiers, usually based at HM Naval Base Clyde, boarded the ship amid concerns it was being used in a smuggling operation.
After a 60-hour search, drugs worth £65 were found stashed in a freezer beneath three tonnes of ice of ice. It is believed that the drugs would have been sold to help fund terrorism in the region and abroad.
The marines, of 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group’s O-Squadron boarded, were operating from Royal Navy warship HMS Monmouth when they spotted the suspicious dhow – a type of vessel common to the Middle East and Indian Ocean – operating in an area not normally known for fishing.
An armed team was dispatched in a rigid inflatable fast response craft to search the vessel, and detain the crew.
Colonel Jock Fraser MBE, Commanding Officer of 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group, said: “The Royal Marine Boarding Team embarked in HMS Monmouth demonstrated once again the vital role that Royal Marines from 43 Commando fulfil in supporting the Royal Navy to prosecute counter-narcotics and maritime security operations across the globe.
“I am delighted that their specialist skills have enabled the seizure of heroin and cannabis valued at over £65M in this significant drugs bust.”
The boarding teams spent hours painstakingly searching the vessel for narcotics, before finding 455kg of cannabis and 266kg of heroin, drugs with an estimated street value in the UK of around £65M.
Commander Ian Feasey, HMS Monmouth’s Commanding Officer, said: “I am extremely proud of the professionalism, diligence and perseverance of my boarding team to achieve a result in such arduous conditions.
"This has been an effort by the whole ship’s company and their efforts speak volumes about the Royal Navy’s ability and commitment to preventing illegal activity on the high seas.”
After the haul was photographed by the Royal Navy Police on board HMS Monmouth, the drugs were disposed of in the sea, ensuring no profit can be made from them.
In June and November last year Royal Marines from 43 Commando were also involved in drug busts in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.
The previous Indian Ocean bust, from destroyer HMS Defender, netted £5.6M of hashish, while the Caribbean operation saw a Scots maritime sniper shoot out the engine of a drug smuggler’s speed boat from a moving helicopter, leading to the seizure of £40M worth of cocaine.
Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth is set to continue her patrols in the Indian Ocean as part of Combined Task Force 150, a coalition of warships with a mission to “promote maritime security in order to counter terrorist acts and related illegal activities, which terrorists use to fund or conceal their movements”.
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