YEOVILTON LIFE: Drug busting helicopter crew in the Caribbean

A LYNX helicopter crew from RNAS Yeovilton has helped to seize nearly 600 kilos of cocaine with a UK street value of £21m.

The massive seizure came in Caribbean with the Yeovilton crew - from 815 NAS and flight commander Lt Adam Prevett - on deployment with HMS Argyll on counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean.

A maritime patrol aircraft spotted a suspicious-looking vessel and then HMS Argyll was deployed to intercept it.

Once she closed on the boat, the ship launched her onboard Lynx helicopter to confirm it was acting in a way typical of drug smugglers, before sending her sea boats across to capture the crew and contraband.

PHOTO - RIGHT: Bales of cocaine wrapped in bin bags.

HMS Argyll’s commanding officer, Commander Paul Hammond, said: “My team and I knew that a swift and correct interception was required in this case.

“We worked well with our international partners to give ourselves the best chance of success and I used the exceptional capabilities of a modern warship, including sea boats and the Lynx helicopter, to detain the crew and seize the drugs from the target vessel.”

Once onboard the small power boat, the US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Royal Navy sailors discovered bales of cocaine wrapped in bin bags.

This work is part of Operation Martillo - a 15-nation collaborative effort to deny trans-national criminal organisations air and maritime access to the littoral regions of Central America, and focus on putting a stop to the illegal movement of drugs from South America to the western world.

PHOTO - ABOVE: HMS Argyll on patrol in the Caribbean.

PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Ministry of Defence - Crown Copyright.

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