London: Britain's navy has fired nine sailors serving on a nuclear-armed submarine after they tested positive for using cocaine, the country's defence ministry said on Saturday.
The crew were from HMS Vigilant, one of four Royal Navy submarines which operate the Trident nuclear missile system.
"We do not tolerate drugs misuse by service personnel. Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service," a Royal Navy spokesman said.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported that the sailors had failed drugs tests while the submarine was docked in the United States to pick up nuclear warheads and undergo work, and the sailors had been accommodated in hotels on shore.
A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment on the location of the incident but said: "There is no evidence to suggest any individual was under the influence while performing their duties."
The ministry also confirmed the submarine's commander had been relieved of his command pending investigation, but declined to give details. Previous reports said this was due to an earlier unrelated incident.
Britain's four nuclear-armed submarines each carry eight operational missiles and 40 nuclear warheads, and have a crew of 135. Since 1969 Britain has had at least one nuclear-armed submarine on patrol at all times.
The crew were from HMS Vigilant, one of four Royal Navy submarines which operate the Trident nuclear missile system.
"We do not tolerate drugs misuse by service personnel. Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service," a Royal Navy spokesman said.
A defence ministry spokesman declined to comment on the location of the incident but said: "There is no evidence to suggest any individual was under the influence while performing their duties."
Advertisement
Britain's four nuclear-armed submarines each carry eight operational missiles and 40 nuclear warheads, and have a crew of 135. Since 1969 Britain has had at least one nuclear-armed submarine on patrol at all times.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2017
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Top OTT Releases This Week: Sharmajee Ki Beti, The Bear Season 3, Aavesham, and More Cocaine Worth Rs 21 Crore Found In Woman's Bags, Footwear At Chennai Airport Cameroon Man Who Ingested 73 Cocaine Capsules Arrested At Delhi Airport Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV "Atmanirbharta" Cannot Be At Cost Of Nation's Defence: Air Force Vice Chief Conspiracy Theories Take Off After Global IT Crash UP Train Services Resume At Gonda Accident Site "Good Conversation": S Jaishankar Holds Phone Talks With Ukrainian Counterpart Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.