一艘英国皇家海军军舰在印度洋和海湾地区发生的三起事件中缴获了超过1000万英镑的毒品,并协助了一艘商船。
上周末,英国皇家海军兰开斯特号对两艘可疑船只进行了12个小时的搜索,并与美国海军密切合作,支持一艘报告骚扰的商船。
这艘23型护卫舰在印度洋执行长期任务的地区进行安全巡逻时,在两次行动中缴获了超过7吨海洛因、大麻和***胺。
作为黎明任务的一部分,这艘船的专业皇家海军陆战队登船小组从凌晨开始追踪一艘可疑船只,发现了3.5吨毒品。
当天晚上,该船的野猫直升机发现了另一艘船只,登船小组迅速采取行动,又缴获了3.7吨,完成了两次缴获任务。
兰开斯特在上个月缴获了价值约250万英镑的大麻后,最新的抓捕行动得以实施。
该船的指挥官汤姆·约翰逊(Tom Johnson)说,他为队员们在12小时内完成两次登船任务感到骄傲,尤其是在极具挑战性的条件下。
这距离霍尔木兹海峡水域紧张的海上安全行动结束不到一天。这是一个巨大的团队成功,将团队的努力与一系列国际支持组织的努力相结合,这些组织为取得这样的结果付出了不懈的努力。
在第一次缉毒行动后,警方收集了样本,并销毁了在英国批发价值约550万英镑的毒品。
在登船行动中,有迹象表明,该船是从伊朗海岸出发的,然后在海上从另一艘船上收集毒品。
随着扣押的完成,没过多久,兰开斯特号再次被召唤——这一次,她的野猫直升机发现了嫌疑船只。
当他们发现可疑动静时,“野猫”号一直在周围海域巡逻,充当船只的眼睛。直升机是兰开斯特号在海上执行任务的几种工具之一。
先进的工具能够将实时信息传递到舰艇控制中心,供指挥官做出更明智的决定。
当太阳在印度洋上落下时,刚刚从早些时候的登船中恢复过来的护卫舰登船队又开始行动起来。
在嫌疑人船上发现了大量包裹,经证实是大麻。
总共回收了376袋,重约3.7吨,在英国的批发价值超过400万英镑。第二次缉获表明,英国皇家海军兰开斯特号在2023年成功阻止了近10.4吨毒品流入街头。
英国驻巴林海事部队副指挥官Will Paston上尉补充说,在整个登船过程中,战术熟练、技术专业、坚定的专业精神和彻底的调查都是显而易见的。
这次缉获事件直接影响了兰开斯特号和位于巴林的更大的支持团队数小时的不懈奉献。
“兰开斯特”后来与美国海军的飞机密切合作,为一艘商船提供监视,该商船曾报告受到小型船只的骚扰。“兰开斯特”号船员发动“野猫”直升机仔细评估形势,并向舰上指挥官提供实时信息。小船散开了,商船可以顺利地继续航行。
这艘船是英国在中东地区存在的一部分,正在执行一项为期三年的任务,与盟国合作,加强海上安全和打击非法活动。
▲Credits: Royal Navy
英文原文
A Royal Navy warship seized over £10 million of ***s and aided a merchant vessel in three incidents in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf.
Over the weekend, HMS Lancaster conducted searches on two suspect boats for 12 hours and worked closely with the US Navy to support a merchant vessel reporting harassment.
The Type 23 frigate captured over seven tons of ***, hashish, and methamphetamine across two operations in the Indian Ocean while on a security patrol of the region where she was deployed on a long-term mission.
In the first call as part of a dawn mission, the vessel’s specialist Royal Marines Boarding team discovered 3.5 tons of ***s on tracking down a suspect ship since the morning’s early hours.
That evening, the vessel’s Wildcat helicopter was able to spot another craft, and the boarding team promptly sprang into action to seize an additional 3.7 tons and complete the double haul.
The latest captures have come through after Lancaster seized hashish worth approximately £2.5 million in the previous month.
Tom Johnson, the vessel’s Commanding Officer, said he was proud of the team for their efforts to execute two boardings, especially under challenging conditions, within 12 hours.
This comes less than a day after the conclusion of an intense phase of maritime security operations in the waters of the Straits of Hormuz. It was a huge team success, assimilating the team’s efforts with those of a range of international support organizations who have worked endlessly for such a result.
After the first drug bust, samples had been collected, and the drugs, with a UK wholesale value of approximately £5.5 million, had been destroyed.
During boarding operations, there had been indications that the vessel had embarked on its journey from Iran’s coast before collecting the drugs from another ship at sea.
With a seizure complete, it wasn’t long before Lancaster was again called upon – this time with her Wildcat helicopter spotting the suspected boat.
The Wildcat had been patrolling surrounding seas serving as the vessel’s eyes when they called in suspicious movements. The helicopter is one of the several tools Lancaster can use to conduct operations while at sea.
The advanced tool can relay real-time information to the ship’s control centre for the Commanding Officer to make more informed decisions.
As the sun set over the Indian Ocean, the frigate’s boarding team, having just reset from the earlier boarding, sprang into action to do it again.
A significant quantity of packages was discovered on the suspect ship and was confirmed to be hashish.
About 376 bags were recovered, weighing about 3.7 tons and with a UK wholesale value of more than £4 million. The second haul indicates that HMS Lancaster has successfully prevented almost 10.4 tons of ***s from reaching the streets in 2023.
Captain Will Paston, the Deputy UK Maritime Component Commander in Bahrain, added that tactical proficiency, technical expertise, steadfast professionalism, and investigative thoroughness have been clear throughout the boarding process.
The seizures directly impacted the countless hours of untiring dedication by HMS Lancaster and the greater supporting team based in Bahrain.
Lancaster later collaborated closely with aircraft from the US Navy to offer overwatch for a merchant vessel, which had reported harassment by small vessels. Lancaster’s crew members launched the Wildcat helicopter to carefully assess the situation and provide a real-time feed to the vessel’s Commanding Officer. The small craft dispersed, and the merchant vessel could continue without hassle.
The vessel is part of the UK’s presence in the Middle East and is on a three-year mission to work with allies to boost maritime security and counter illegal activities.
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