The U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Navy announced they had seized $45 million worth of drugs in three separate raids. Within two weeks. On Friday, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Nobel in Miami offloaded more than 1,850 pounds of cocaine. Seized from a speedboat south of Puerto Rico. The drug had a street value of $24.3 million, and five suspected smugglers were arrested. The next day, the Royal Navy warship Trent seized 200 kilograms of cocaine. And other drugs (worth $21.1 million) in her two separate raids in the Caribbean.

In the first incident, a team of British sailors, the Royal Marines and the U.S. Coast Guard deployed a pursuit boat from a warship to pursue a speedboat, which resulted in its capture. Forty-eight hours later, Trent returned to action and, working with a U.S. Coast Guard patrol aircraft, successfully tracked and intercepted another high-speed boat.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy warships have seized  $388 million worth of drugs since deploying to the Caribbean late last year, according to recent operations. In February, they seized $278.7 million worth of cocaine and other drugs, and in January they seized $88.6 million worth of cocaine. Trent usually operates in the Mediterranean and off the west coast of Africa, but she was sent to the Caribbean last December to crack down on drug smugglers.

This patrol ship replaced the destroyer  Dauntless. “Efforts to combat illicit smuggling in the Caribbean are truly a collaborative effort between the Coast Guard and our federal partners and regional allies,” said Col. John B. McWhite, 7th Coast Guard District Enforcement Director. “We will continue to play our role in denying drug trafficking networks access to maritime smuggling routes in support of  enforcement strategies.”