PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Last Monday the Dutch Naval ship HNLMS Groningen, functioning as a Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard patrol, disrupted a drug transport. This time near the Windward Islands.
HNLMS Groningen detected a suspicious vessel and started a pursuit. The so-called, FRISC’s intercept boats of Groningen were launched after the detection to pursuit the suspected vessel. After a long chase at very high speed, the suspicious vessel managed to escape. During the pursuit the smugglers threw packages overboard, which the FRISC boats took out of the water. The four packages weighed more than 200 kilos, of which a small amount was marijuana and a larger amount was cocaine.
The intercepted contraband was handed over by Groningen to the Sint Maarten Police. The KPSM acted hereafter on instructions from the Public Prosecutor’s office and destroyed the seized drugs hours later. The investigation of this case is ongoing.
HNLMS Groningen is active in the region as a Caribbean station ship since May 2023 and will combine counter-drug operations with supporting the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and humanitarian aid.
