The fight against drug smuggling: a worthwhile mission in the Caribbean

The HNLMS has only been in operation since May. Holland in the Caribbean, but the results are already visible. At the end of last week, the crew was able to stop drug smugglers twice from bringing their valuable cargo to the USA. In the first case, a suspicious speedboat was discovered on Friday. As it did not stop despite radio calls, the two Dutch fast response boats were launched. Although they were able to catch up with the smuggler boat, they were initially unable to bring it to a halt. Only targeted shots at the outboard engines of the fleeing go-fast put an end to the pursuit. During the subsequent search, the soldiers found a semi-automatic rifle and more than 700 kilograms of cocaine. Although the three smugglers had already thrown a large proportion of the drugs overboard, the crew of the Dutch patrol vessel were able to fish them out of the sea.

HNLMS Holland

Only a little later, the Holland the next big catch came into the net. In the early hours of the morning, the crew of another go-fast did not comply with the request to stop and did not even respond to warning shots. The soldiers were only successful with targeted shots from the on-board helicopter of the Holland. Once again, the outboard engines were destroyed to make it impossible for the boat to escape. This time, a joint boarding team from the Dutch Navy and the US Coast Guard was able to seize 585 kilos of cocaine and arrest the three suspected Colombians. The forces then handed them over to the US Coast Guard.
In addition to semi-submersible boats, which are particularly difficult to detect, so-called go-fasts are often used for drug smuggling in the Caribbean. These particularly fast vehicles usually have a long, narrow shape reminiscent of racing boats. With their combination of a lightweight design and extreme motorisation, speeds of more than 80 knots can be achieved. This not only makes them significantly faster than all patrol boats used in the Caribbean, but also puts them ahead of many armed forces patrol boats. As in this case, only the use of helicopters can help.

Text: mb; Photo: Koninklijke Marine