Police in drugs raid on nuclear sub base after two marines arrested
BRITAIN’S nuclear weapons base has been raided by police – with two Scots marines arrested for alleged drug dealing.
Officers swooped on HM Naval Base Clyde – home to the fleet of Trident submarines – and searched troops’ living quarters.
It came two days after the arrest of commandos Grant Broadfoot, 27, and Stuart Bryant, 29 – as well as Ian Broadfoot, 60 – over suspected drugs offences.
A five-figure sum of cash was also seized during a police operation in Baillieston, in Glasgow’s East End.
Police then carried out searches at Faslane, on the Gare Loch, in Argyll, to make further inquiries connected to the arrests.
A source said: ‘A few cops in unmarked cars turned up. They had warrants and were searching a couple of houses on the base.
‘It’s not what you would expect when you consider this is where nuclear weapons are.’
The marines appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on the day of the raid, Friday, June 5, and made no plea to charges of supplying illegal substances. Grant Broadfoot and Ian Broadfoot also made no plea to a charge of producing drugs. Grant Broadfoot was remanded in custody. The other two were bailed.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘We are aware of an ongoing Police Scotland investigation and the search that was conducted recently with the assistance of the Ministry of Defence Police.’
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: ‘We arrested and charged three men in connection with drug offences. A five-figure sum of cash was recovered after two addresses in Glasgow were searched.
‘On Friday, June 5, HM Naval Base Clyde was searched under warrant in connection with this inquiry. No drugs or money was recovered.’
Last June, three sailors aboard one of the nuclear submarines, HMS Vengeance, which carries 16 nuclear missiles, were caught taking cocaine. The submariners had failed a compulsory drugs test for the class A substance shortly after the 15,900 ton vessel visited a military port in Florida.
The crew members were removed from HMS Vengeance when it returned to Faslane.
We told in April last year how seven sailors had been kicked off HMS Talent after testing positive for cocaine while on duty.
A drugs and sex scandal in October 2017 led to around 10 per cent of HMS Vigilant’s 168-strong crew being removed, quitting or coming under investigation.
Nine servicemen were also thrown off the submarine after testing positive for cocaine.
It was alleged the group had drugfuelled parties while the submarine was docked in the US.
The vessel’s second-in-command Lieutenant Commander Michael Seal, 36, was removed in 2017 amid claims he had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with an engineering lieutenant, Hannah Litchfield, 27.
He was sent home days after the captain, Stuart Armstrong, 41, was thrown off amid claims he was in a relationship with a subordinate, Rebecca Edwards, 25.