DRUG RAID MARINES

Navy team flies out to probe dope deal outside dock gates NAVY
investigators are probing an alleged drugs ring among Royal Marine commandos.

The inquiry - possibly the biggest scandal to hit the elite corps - was
launched after claims that men from the troopship Sir Galahad bought
cannabis while on shore leave at Malaga in southern Spain.

A team from the Royal Navy's special investigations branch flew from London
to join the ship which was carrying 200 Marines home from peace-keeping
duties in Kosovo.

Troops could be tested for drug abuse.

Only a handful of Marines have been busted for drugs in the 336-year
history of the corps.

Drug-peddlers targeted the troops within hours of their ship docking - and
allegedly did a shady deal right under the noses of Spanish police.

Last night, as Sir Galahad headed home to Plymouth, details of the probe
emerged.

Investigators have been told of an amazing cloak-and-dagger exchange at the
harbour gates of Malaga where the ship spent two days.

Beneath the surface of the port lies a seedy underbelly.

Drugs are freely available and prostitutes operate on many street corners.

The dealers are said to have arranged to meet Marines with promises of hashish.

At 10.30 next morning two Marines in civvies sauntered from the ship in the
sunshine.

Observers said that yards from where the deal was done members of the
Spanish Guardia Civil were directing traffic in and out of the port.

The Marines walked to a man wearing a trilby hat. He handed them a paper
package.

The contact took the troops across the busy main road through a park, past
the Malaga Palacio Hotel towards a bank cashpoint.

One of the Marines was allegedly heard to say: "If this gear's crap I'm
going to bash your head in."'

The Britons then vanished into the crowd.

Shocked witnesses contacted the British Embassy in Madrid and Britain's
military attache based in Spain.

Two hours later officers from the Navy's special investigations branch,
based in Portsmouth, were preparing to fly to join Sir Galahad.

Detailed eye-witness statements were taken by the investigators.

The witnesses were questioned for two hours by'leading regulator Simon
Honeybun at a secure location just outside Malaga.

The ship is the successor to the Sir Galahad which was hit by an Exocet
missile during the Falklands War.

It docked in Malaga on a voyage which began off the coast of Albania, and
will arrive in Plymouth today.

Alongside Sir Galahad was the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible
where comic Jim Davidson was filming a two-hour festive special, Homeward
Bound, for Christmas.

The programme, which will be shown after the Queen's Speech on Christmas
Day, will be presented by Prince Charles.

The Marines from 42 Commando were allowed ashore after their peace-keeping
tasks.

The troops had visited local bars, restaurants and enjoyed the old town, a
popular spot teeming with British holidaymakers who flocked to the dock to
see the Royal Navy. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman confirmed last night
that officers from the investigations unit had boarded the Sir Galahad on
its voyage home.

The Royal Marines are among the elite of the world's special forces.

Britain's armed forces have a "zero tolerance" towards drugs use. Our
troops are given lectures on the evil of drugs and warned that there will
be no exceptions. The Defence Ministry spokeswoman said: "We are aware
there are allegations of drug use.

"These allegations will be investigated before the ship arrives in Plymouth."

In June this year six Royal Marines were kicked out after taking drugs in
Kosovo.

They were caught out by the Navy's new policy of random drug testing.

All six had used cannabis or ecstasy in what was then the biggest drugs
scandal to hit the force.

A senior officer said at the time: "This is a terrible blow to the Royal
Marines Corps. We will get rid of them because drug takers have no place
here.""

Royal Navy supremo Sir Michael Boyce, the First Sea Lord, and Defence
Secretary Geoff Hoon were informed of the busts.

One of the Marines caught in that crackdown said: "Part of the problem is
the boredom of sitting around waiting for something to happen.""

Nearly 650 members of Britain's armed forces have tested positive for
banned drugs this year.

Most positive tests were for cannabis although cocaine and other controlled
substances were also found. No tests revealed heroin.

Replying to a House of Commons written question, Armed Forces Minister John
Spellar said 580 Army personnel failed random drugs tests between January 1
and the middle of October.

In the same period 41 Navy personnel and 14 from the RAF tested positive.

All three services carry out regular testing and almost all personnel who
fail a test are required to leave.

There are 206,353 men and women of all ranks serving with the three
branches of the British armed forces.

The original Sir Galahad was sunk in 1982 as a war grave after it was hit
in the Falklands conflict.

The new Sir Galahad was built at Swan Hunter and entered service in 1988.