The Royal Navy has seized £200m worth of cocaine in a dramatic drugs bust in the Caribbean.
HMS Cumberland led the swoop on a gang of drug traffickers as they raced across the ocean in a speedboat.
Together with a Lynx helicopter from her support ship, Cumberland intercepted the boat in international waters around 100 miles off the coast of Nicaragua during a routine counter-drugs patrol.
The four-strong gang at first tried to outrun their pursuers.
However, they were forced to give themselves up after specialist snipers in the Lynx helicopter fired bullets to disable the speedboat's engines.
A team from Cumberland then boarded the vessel and arrested the crew, who offered little resistance.
They seized two tonnes of cocaine with a street value of around £200m.
The operation, which was supported by the US Coastguard, took place late on Friday night.
Captain Simon Ancona, HMS Cumberland's commanding officer, said: "Operations like these send a strong message that governments, agencies and armed forces worldwide will work together in a determined effort to counter drug running.
"This operation has stopped Class A drugs reaching the streets and harming our communities."
HMS Cumberland led the swoop on a gang of drug traffickers as they raced across the ocean in a speedboat.
Together with a Lynx helicopter from her support ship, Cumberland intercepted the boat in international waters around 100 miles off the coast of Nicaragua during a routine counter-drugs patrol.
The four-strong gang at first tried to outrun their pursuers.
However, they were forced to give themselves up after specialist snipers in the Lynx helicopter fired bullets to disable the speedboat's engines.
A team from Cumberland then boarded the vessel and arrested the crew, who offered little resistance.
They seized two tonnes of cocaine with a street value of around £200m.
The operation, which was supported by the US Coastguard, took place late on Friday night.
Captain Simon Ancona, HMS Cumberland's commanding officer, said: "Operations like these send a strong message that governments, agencies and armed forces worldwide will work together in a determined effort to counter drug running.
"This operation has stopped Class A drugs reaching the streets and harming our communities."
