DRUGS worth more than £200million have been seized by the Royal Navy after a dramatic chase in the Caribbean Sea.
British sailors and marines on HMS Trent chased a speedboat as the crew desperately tried to dump almost three tonnes of cocaine into the ocean.
The crew of HMS Trent launched an extensive search operation that lasted all night to recover the drugs thrown overboard.
They eventually found more than 2.5 tonnes of cocaine worth £204 million.
Following this latest success, the crew of HMS Trent have now prevented £511 million worth of drugs from reaching our streets.
The smugglers were spotted by a United States maritime patrol aircraft, which alerted the Royal Navy to the suspect ship.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I would like to congratulate the crew of HMS Trent on this latest arrest, but also on their incredible work over the past five months, seizing large quantities of drugs and disrupting global drug networks.
“The Royal Navy continues to show that those who attempt to profit from illegal drugs will face the full force of justice wherever they are in the world.”
HMS Trent's latest victory follows a double bust earlier this year in which almost £300 million worth of narcotics was seized.
The patrol vessel has been deployed in the Caribbean Sea since December specifically to hunt drug smugglers, maintain maritime security and enforce international law in the region.
Working with multinational partners, the ship seized 6,390kg of drugs with a street value of £511 million over five months of operations.
Trent's Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, added: “The combined capabilities of the ship, the embarked US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and our 47 Commando Mates have once again proven the utility of our ship in countering smuggling of narcotics.
“Trent and her crew work seamlessly together to complete another covert attack and continue to achieve unprecedented success in intercepting human traffickers.”
The Royal Navy has delivered a decisive blow to drug networks around the world, with HMS Lancaster also seizing £33 million worth of drugs in the Gulf earlier this year.