Royal Navy warship HMS Defender makes huge £1m drugs during Indian Ocean raid

Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender bagged 2,500kg of hashish during a raid in the Indian Ocean, the Royal Navy has today announced.

The bust is the warship’s second in as many months, after Defender seized and destroyed a record-breaking haul of crystal meth in December.

Defender’s captain, Commander Richard Hewitt, praised his crew’s actions and said: ‘Once again Defender has been able to seize a significant amount of narcotics, reinforcing the Royal Navy’s commitment to ensuring maritime security by disrupting the operations of drug smugglers and terrorists.’

Both of Defender’s raids have taken place while the £1bn destroyer was operating with Combined Task Force 150 – an international team keeping the seas of the Gulf secure.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Britain’s armed forces minister, said Defender’s work is critical in keeping the UK’s streets safe.

She added: ‘Thanks to the work of HMS Defender and her crew, these drugs will never reach the street and the criminal organisations responsible will be dented financially. The substantial seizures made by the combined task force are testament to the seamless co-operation between our international partners that keeps our citizens safe.’

Defender’s latest bust took place after the ship’s Wildcat helicopter spotted a dhow acting suspiciously.

A boarding team of Royal Marine Commandos, led by Lieutenant Ben Clink, was scrambled to intercept the fishing vessel.

A search later uncovered 2,500kg of hashish in 119 bags stashed away in hidden compartments in the boat.

Royal Navy boarding officer Lieutenant Stuart Campbell said: ‘This is yet another example of the Royal Navy putting their first-class operational training to use, interrupting drug traffickers active in the region.’

In December, Defender bagged 131kg of crystal meth worth £3.3m - a record bust for the combined maritime forces, taking the group’s total crystal meth haul for 2019 to 257kg, compared to 9kg in 2018.

Captain Sean Stewart, deputy commander of CTF 150, said: ‘Once again, HMS Defender has done some terrific work and proven to be a high value asset to CTF 150.’