Royal Navy forces have given a fascinating insight into what it is like to fight against international drug smugglers in efforts to stop dangerous drugs reaching the streets, The Mirror reports. In the Gulf of Oman, where the crew of HMS Lancaster is currently on duty, criminals disguise themselves as fishermen in dhows.
The boats are used to transport large quantities of heroin, crystal meth and hashish into East Africa and then Europe. Royal Marine Commandos revealed how their understanding of the trade in the Gulf means that they can establish if a fisherman is smuggling drugs for gangs in Iran or Pakistan just by touch.
Royal Marine Commando Lieutenant Wotton, 24, from south Devon, with six comrades in support, first boards a vessel before getting the go-ahead to unleash his team after the ship's Wildcat helicopter reports concerns. With seven armed Commandos breathing down their necks, smugglers rarely put up resistence.
