Marine intercepts cocaine in Caribbean
Dutch Caribbean — The naval ship Zr.Ms. Van Speijk intercepted 1,600 kg of cocaine on New Year’s Eve. The drugs were hidden on board a Tanzanian flagged merchant ship that was en route to the Dominican Republic. It was the second drug seizure within two weeks. On 22 December the Van Speijk held a go-fast with 550 kg of cocaine on board.
The NH-90 onboard helicopter discovered the suspicious merchant ship on Christmas Day. Zr.Ms. Van Speijk shadowed the ship during the night, to drop off the boarding team of the American Coast Guard, the so-called Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), the next morning. From that moment on the suspicious ship was kept under control and thoroughly searched. When a first search failed, it was decided in consultation with the authorities to put the ship in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on the chain and continue to search. On New Year’s Eve the LEDET discovered the bales of cocaine that were hidden in a space between the fuel tanks. The ship, the drugs and passengers were transferred to the Dominican Republic.
Zr.Ms. Van Speijk currently sails as a station ship in the Caribbean. In addition to maritime presence, the main task of the station ship is to provide orkaannood assistance and perform counter-drug operations. To this end, the ship is deployed for both the Caribbean Coastguard, and for the permanent multinational drug control organization, the Joint Interagency Task Force South. The Commander of the Navy in the Caribbean, brigade-general of the marines Peter Jan de Vin, commands one of the task groups of this organization.
