Brits seize 170k cocaine
British sailors help seize 170kilos of cocaine in Caribbean Sea off Jamaican coast
From Daily Mail UK
Pictured: Dramatic moment drug runners’ speedboat is set ablaze after British sailors spotted it and seized cocaine worth £8.5 MILLION in the Caribbean Sea
Crew of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Naval Support Ship involved in drug bust
Spotted speedboat and provided back-up as teams swooped in from the air
Warning shots were fired as the drug runners tried to jettison their haul
Last month same ship helped in a 1,250kg cocaine bust south of Dominica
A drug runners’ boat burns at sea thanks to British civilian sailors who spotted the tiny vessel off the Jamaican coats before helping to seize the 170 kilos of cocaine worth £8.5 million it was carrying.
Naval support ship Wave Knight detected the drug runners’ small vessel operating off the coast of Jamaica where they had been on routine patrol.
They then provided vital back-up as a team swooped in by helicopter firing warning shots as the two-man crew attempted to jettison their cargo.
Blaze: The drug runners’ captured speedboat was set on fire after its crew and cargo of cocaine worth £8.5 were seized thanks to the help of British sailors
The boat was forced to standstill before being boarded by members of the US Coastguard. Packages weighing a total of 170kg later tested positive for cocaine and the two men were transferred to mainland US.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship’s latest success comes hot on the heels of its role in a 1,250kg cocaine bust last month south of the Dominican Republic.
It is deployed as part of Operation Martillo, a 15-nation joint effort to disrupt drug trafficking from Central and South America into the Caribbean and onwards to the UK.
Joint operation: A US helicopter, lands on the Naval Support ship Wave Knight which played a vital back-up role in the huge cocaine seizure
Bust: Civilian sailors from the Naval support ship Wave Knight helped seize cocaine worth £8.5 million from a speedboat in the Caribbean sea
Captain Duncan Lamb, RFA Wave Knight’s commanding officer, said: ‘RFA Wave Knight’s latest cocaine seizure rounds off a very successful patrol and underlines the effectiveness of multi-national counter narcotics operations in the Caribbean.
‘The ship, US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment and an armed US Coast Guard helicopter working together present a formidable obstacle to the smugglers.’
Armed with Vulcan Phalanx Gatling guns, self-defence weapons and decoys, the 31,500 tonne fleet tanker provides a launchpad for helicopters at sea.
Earlier success: Last month the same ship helped in a 1,250kg cocaine bust south of the Dominican Republic
Mission: A boat from Wave Knight recovers bales of cocaine which had been hurled into the water during last month’s drug bust
It also has the capacity to refuel and resupply other naval vessels.
The RFA is a flotilla of 13 naval support ships that delivers afloat support to UK and Allied armed forces around the world.
Owned by the Ministry of Defence, it is manned by British civilian sailors who are trained to operate alongside the Royal Navy.
Support ship: Armed with Vulcan Phalanx Gatling guns, self-defence weapons and decoys, the 31,500 tonne Wave Knight provides a launchpad for helicopters at sea
It was the first embarkation of an armed US Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter to a non-US military platform, the Ministry of Defence said.
Mark Francois, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, said: ‘I am delighted that the men and women of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have once again provided vital assistance to the international counter-narcotics mission in the Caribbean.
‘I’d like to thank them for their hard work throughout their deployment which has already led to millions of pounds worth of illegal drugs being taken off our streets.’
For more on this story go to:
See also iNews Cayman related story under iNews Briefs dated February 20 2014
“US Coast Guard makes US$4 million cocaine bust in Caribbean Sea” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/inews-briefs-63/
