5 British soldiers held ‘for dealing cocaine at base’

AT least five British soldiers have been arrested in a sting by military police on suspicion of dealing cocaine at their base.

The gunners from the Royal Artillery were hauled into custody after raids on military accommodation in Wiltshire last Tuesday.

While cases of soldiers being caught taking cocaine are not uncommon, it is rare for troops to be suspected of dealing Class A drugs. Following the arrests, the camp at Larkhill was locked down while other troops underwent compulsory drug tests (CDTs).

Royal Military Police (RMP) officers accompanied by specialist military dog units swept through the base following a tip-off about drug dealing.

The soldiers suspected of dealing face certain expulsion from the Army if found guilty. Anyone who purchased the drug will also face court martial.

While, officially, the Army says it operates a ‘zero tolerance’ approach towards drug taking, junior soldiers with unblemished disciplinary records are often given a second chance.

Last night, a source at the base said: ‘It was a shakedown.

‘The RMPs clearly had some good intelligence on what was happening and had come prepared.

Afterwards, everyone was getting CDTed. You couldn’t get off camp without being tested. Nobody was being let out otherwise.’

‘The officers are furious, the suggestion that their soldiers are dealing drugs when their backs are turned has made them livid.’

Last night, the Ministry of

Defence confirmed the dramatic events last week.

A spokesman said: ‘A number of soldiers at Larkhill Garrison were arrested by the Royal Military Police on April 26, 2022.

‘As the matter is the subject of an ongoing Royal Military Police investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.’ This is the latest drugs scandal to hit the Royal Artillery.

Last year the Daily Mail revealed how ten soldiers from the Royal Horse Artillery, which is part of the same Corps, were booted out after failing drug tests.

Their commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Simon Harris won praise for his hardline stance when it emerged he ordered the troops to be driven hundreds of miles to the nearest available drug testing centre after he suspected them of misusing illegal substances at a weekend party on their camp.

Had he waited for a closer testing facility to reopen on the Monday morning the drugs may have been flushed out of their bodies. Those given their marching orders included two female soldiers. The wider Army has suffered a series of drug scandals in recent years. In 2021, a record 19 members of the 1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, failed the same CDT after they had taken cocaine and cannabis.

Also last year, ten soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment’s 2nd Battalion were caught taking cocaine at the Cypriot resort of Paphos near the base on the island. They were confronted by drug testers on their return to camp.

The Royal Navy has also suffered its share of drug scandals with a nuclear submarine having been dubbed ‘HMS Sex and Cocaine’ after a breakdown in discipline among sailors.

In 2017, 17 members of HMS Vigilant were booted off the vessel after traces of the Class A drug were found in their bloodstream.

‘It has made the officers livid’