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Prince William in £40m drugs swoop
Sri Carmichael02.07.08
Prince William played a key role in the seizure of £40million of cocaine from smugglers in the Caribbean, it was revealed today.
He was on board a Lynx helicopter when he spotted a speedboat north-east of Barbados. The 50ft-long craft was ordered to stop and armed US coastguards boarded it and found nearly a ton of cocaine.
William, 25, was a member-of the crew of the helicopter which took off from Type 23 frigate Iron Duke. William had only been on board the warship for four days when the operation took place on Saturday.
Details were revealed today by the Navy, who described the seizure as "a fantastic start" to his deployment. Sub -Lieutenant Wales, as he known on the Iron Duke, is serving on the ship for five weeks while it tours the Caribbean searching for drug smugglers.
An MoD spokesman said: "This was a substantial haul, which will significantly disrupt drug supplies that may have been headed for Europe."
He added: "William's involvement was appropriate for his junior rank and his experience. He played an important planning and surveillance role in part of a successful team operation."
Clarence House said it had no comment other than William had "simply played his part" in a military operation.
William was not piloting the Lynx when it spotted the speedboat. British vessels have seized around 20 tons of cocaine in the past 18 months, worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The region is a swarming with drug smugglers who take cocaine from South America to Europe.
William's naval posting is the latest stage in a military career that has seen him deployed in all three Armed Services.
He undertook three weeks of onshore naval training last month before joining the 4,900-ton warship. William is sharing a 11ft by 7ft twoberth cabin with another officer while on board.
Like all the crew, he has very limited access to phone calls and the internet and it is likely that his girlfriend Kate Middleton heard about the drugs raid secondhand through royal staff.
Before he began his tour with the Royal Navy, Rear Admiral Bob Cooling, Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, warned that William would be treated "just like any other young officer", not "a super-VIP".
He said the attachment would be rigorous and challenging. It is currently hurricane season in the Caribbean and the prince could also find himself providing humanitarian relief.
Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Philip have all served with the Royal Navy. Andrew was a helicopter pilot during the Falklands war.
William has already spent a year with the Army and five months with the RAF, where he gained his wings.
