Royal Navy Frigate In £65m Drugs Bust

Click above to listen to Lieutenant Alison Ross & Commander Ian Feaseyspeaking to Forces News from onboard HMS Monmouth.

A Royal Navy frigate has seized £65m worth of heroin and cannabis from a vessel in the Indian Ocean.

Sailors and Royal Marines on-board HMS Monmouth destroyed more than 700kg of drugs after finding it hidden in the freezer of a fishing boat.

It was found on board a dhow, a type of vessel common in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean, which had been spotted in an unusual fishing area.

Two boarding teams from the Type 26 frigate intercepted the vessel and were able to get aboard before smugglers could destroy any evidence.

Commander Ian Feasey, HMS Monmouth's Commanding Officer, said:

"Such a substantial seizure of drugs will deal a significant blow to the international narcotics trade which is known to provide funding for terrorist organisations."

It took Royal Marines and Royal Navy search specialists 60 hours to find the hidden drugs. 

Lieutenant Alison Ross, who was one of HMS Monmouth's boarding officers, said:

"After such a long search I had doubts we would find anything, but the reactions of the crew to our activity in certain areas was enough to convince us that there was illegal cargo."

"Eventually the breakthrough was made and we could bring the operation to a close, having successfully put a stop to the progress of the drugs."

Once the drugs had been photographed, the packages were thrown into the sea. 

HMS Monmouth is currently part of Combined Task Force 150 which sees warships from a number of different countries promote maritime security to counter terrorism and drug smuggling.

This is the third such drug bust in the past month for the task force.

At the beginning of May, an Australian frigate recovered 250kg of heroin, and just before that a French frigate found 400kg of heroin with a street value of £120m.