Royal Navy carries out second Mediterranean drugs bust

The Type 23 frigate intercepted the drug smugglers during a routine security patrol and prevented around £1 million worth of narcotics reaching European markets.

The interception is the second to be carried out in as many weeks, as HMS Richmond also recovered 1,015kg of cannbabis, worth around £3 million.

The personal on board HMS St Albans noticed the small boat acting suspiciously and launched its Merlin helicopter to investigate. The crew on board the boat responded by tossing several large packages into the water before speeding away.
Following further investigation, the frigate sent its sea boats to investigate the packages which turned out to be carrying 320kg of cannabis resin.

Lieutenant Commander Jeff Gulliver, St Albans’ Second in Command, said: “The Mediterranean is a well known smuggling route for drugs into Europe and the UK. The team has trained long and hard at home for tasks such as this. Having only just been deployed from the UK last Monday, it is great for them to prove themselves so soon. I’m proud of my sailors for reacting so quickly and helping to keep these drugs off the streets.”

Penny Mordaunt, Armed Forces Minister, said: “After just two weeks on operations HMS St Albans is already having a tangible effect in ensuring the security of the UK by keeping these illicit drugs off our streets. I wish her crew fair winds and following seas for the remainder of their deployment.”

Lieutenant Commander Lauren Hulston, who is in charge of the Merlin Flight, added: “This was the perfect demonstration of the versatility and capability of a Merlin and its crew. With the ability to send live imagery back to the ship, the team was able to act quickly to disrupt this drug smuggling activity and recover a lot of the cannabis. We hope it’s the first of many on this nine month deployment.”

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