Nearly £33m of drugs seized in double raid

Royal Navy warship HMS Lancaster has seized nearly £33m of illegal drugs in two raids in the Indian Ocean within 24 hours.

Sailors and Royal Marines aboard the Portsmouth-based ship found nearly four tonnes of narcotics including heroin and crystal meth, which have now been destroyed.

It follows a recent raid by HMS Trent that saw nearly £17m worth of drugs seized in the Caribbean Sea.

Commanding officer Cdr Chris Sharp said he was "exceptionally proud of the entire team".

The first raid was an eight-hour operation that began when the ship's Wildcat helicopter spotted a suspect vessel.

Royal Marines from 42 Commando secured the vessel, allowing the Royal Navy boarding team to look for illicit cargo.

Nearly 100 packages were found, each containing smaller parcels of narcotics.

Then, in another sweep of the Indian Ocean, the helicopter spotted another vessel.

Lancaster tracked it through the night and struck at dawn, retrieving 2.4 tonnes of hashish.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the raids were "fantastic achievements", and praised the crew's "relentless effort and professionalism".

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