WILLEMSTAD:--- Dutch Navy ship HNLMS Holland executed a drug interdiction on the 25th of February, in cooperation with the Colombian navy in the Caribbean Sea.
The go-fasts were discovered by a maritime patrol aircraft from the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and a helicopter from the Colombian navy. HNLMS Holland sent an embarked helicopter from the US Coast Guard and the FRISC, a fast speedboat, with a combined team of the ships’ crew and embarked US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment. After giving stop signals, the go-fast wasn’t willing to stop. After the firing of some warning shots the suspected smugglers surrendered. The second go-fast was stopped by the Colombian Navy ship ARC Victoria. A total of 800 kilograms of cocaine were seized.
The suspected smugglers and contraband were transferred to US Coast Guard custody. The suspected smugglers will be prosecuted in the United States.
HNLMS Holland is deployed as a patrol vessel in the Caribbean Region as of October 2022 and alternates counter-drug operations with support to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard Region and the US Coast Guard. Dutch ships in the Caribbean region also cooperate with the Colombian Navy to counter drugs.
