A NEW Border Force Coastal Patrol Vessel (CPV) is now operating off the Ayrshire coast to combat human and drug trafficking.
Protecting the coastline, the CPV is the start of a permanent deployment by Border Force which has the added benefit of working close to the shore to access marinas and beaches where the waters are shallow.
The new CPV, operating out of Troon, has a 280-mile range and can travel up to 32 knots.
The deployment of the vessels has already completed successful operations to track and intercept criminal activity along the west coast, including trafficking and drug smuggling.
Doug McLellan, the head of Border Force Maritime Command, said: “The new Coastal Patrol Vessel, Active, is a new class of vessel to us and we now have four of these in service – they were brought into service last year.
“Her job is to enforce customs regulations and immigration law and to look for instances of modern slavery, tax fraud, alcohol and tobacco trafficking and generally to gather intelligence and to be the visible presence of Border Force in the smaller coastal communities around the west coast of Scotland and the islands.
“I don’t think there is a typical day – the crew for the vessel have planned activity but the great thing about these boats is that they can turn and respond to any incident or any threat/information very very quickly.
“There have been many cases of drugs trafficking into the west of Scotland, in very remote parts of the coastline. We have cases taken into Port Patrick and up into the top of Scotland because it is a very vast amount of coastline and sea.
“We certainly consider the west coast of Scotland a place of high potential activity – it is a big issue and it is something that we are very hot on and I just ask the community around Ayrshire to be alert to that.”
Mr McLellan added: “This a 24/7 operation and the vessels work all year round. We use Troon because it is a great location for the west coast of Scotland but the boat will go where the work dictates it and the crew can live of board here for a time if they must but the boat will come back to places like Troon where we can get great support for things like maintenance and crew changes.
“There have been a number of incidents in the west of Scotland in modern day slavery and illegal working – it is also happening around the whole of the UK and we now have new powers to deal with it and it is something that we are more involved in.”
A case that Border Force was heavily involved in was when a total of 3.8 tonnes of high purity cocaine was discovered in a ballast tank at the front of a ship in April 2015.
The ship, MV Hamal, was intercepted by Border Force officials and HMS Somerset 100 miles east of Aberdeenshire. The drugs had an estimated street value of £512m.
Border Control have set up a project called ‘Project KRAKEN’ which is means if members of the public and members of the boating community see something that just isn’t right in their areas and marinas up and down the coast they can report their concerns, allowing Border Control to act.
Members of the public can report any suspicious activity on 101 or crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 by quoting Project KRAKEN.
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