Prince William, in his latest guise as a Royal Navy officer, has taken part in a £40 million cocaine drugs bust while patrolling in the North Atlantic on board the frigate HMS Iron Duke.

Currently known as SubLieutenant Wales, the Prince was sitting in the back of the frigate’s sole Lynx Mark 3 helicopter flying as an observer over the western part of the North Atlantic, several hundred miles northeast of Barbados, when a Royal Marine sniper next to him spotted a suspected drug-smuggling speedboat below.

Just two days after joining HMS Iron Duke as part of his training with the Royal Navy, Sub-Lieutenant Wales found himself at the centre of a smuggling drama. But on this occasion – unlike previous operations where the Royal Navy has been engaged in high-speed chases of cocaine smugglers emerging in their speedboats from the Caribbean islands – there was no need to launch a pursuit because the vessel appeared to be in trouble.

Speaking to The Times from HMS Iron Duke yesterday, Commander Mark Newland, commanding officer of the warship, said: “Prince William was thrilled to be involved and, like all members of the crew, made a personal contribution to the success of the operation.” Although Prince William, 26, was not involved in boarding the smugglers’ vessel – that was left to the US Coast Guard – he and the rest of the 195-member crew of the Type 22 frigate were caught up in the drama immediately after intelligence was received from the Americans at the end of last week that a suspect vessel was heading for Europe from the Caribbean.

US coastguards based on HMS Iron Duke boarded the vessel, arresting five suspected smugglers and seizing 45 bales of cocaine weighing 900 kg (1,980lb).

The frigate spent five days tracking the vessel after it was first spotted leaving one of the Caribbean islands. The vessel was of a kind normally used by drug smugglers, and is known locally as a “go-fast”, a sleek speedboat that can outrun a naval warship but not a chasing helicopter. Commander Newland said that Prince William was involved in the planning to find and seize the vessel.

The Prince is spending five weeks on HMS Iron Duke, the final phase of his secondment to the Royal Navy. He previously completed a training course ashore at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, and at other bases, after his time with the Army and RAF.

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