A swarm of police backed by the Bermuda Coastguard, the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Customs Department raided a cargo ship at port in Dockyard yesterday morning.

Officers with police detection dogs boarded the MV Suhar — a giant cement carrier — shortly before 11am at Freeport Drive.

In a year with some high-profile joint raids police and customs, the appearance of more than two dozen officers just after the ship arrived in port, with coastguard divers apparently inspecting the hull, drew quick attention.

The ship was moored across from the twin silos of Maxcem, the cement importer, whose business was unaffected by the waterside operation, according to staff who spoke to The Royal Gazette.

According to online ship trackers, the Panamanian-registered carrier arrived in Bermuda from Tampico, Mexico.

The ship’s crew looked on as officers conducted an extensive search.

It was unclear what, if anything, was removed from the ship over the course of several hours.

A worker at a nearby business told the Gazette he believed that police had the site under observation well before today’s raid.

Several police cars and a number of motorcycles came into the fenced-off dockside area, with two coastguard boats alongside the ship and a half-dozen divers heading underwater at the aft.

Queries for details went to the Royal Bermuda Regiment as well as police.

Police confirmed that they had executed a search warrant on the Suhar based on “information received“, with the assistance of the Bermuda Customs Department in addition to the Coastguard.

“The operation remains ongoing,” a spokesman said.

“As such, it would not be prudent to provide any further information at this time.”

The operation comes in the wake of a string of high-value drug raids this year.

The seizures of contraband have been notable for their size as well as the seeming lack of court appearances despite multiple arrests.

On October 5, police and customs intercepted a shipment of cocaine with an estimated value of more than $180,000, with two people arrested.

Another joint operation on June 22 netted a shipment of MDMA, “shatter” and cannabis valued at $2.9 million, with one arrest.

On April 19, police stopped two vehicles headed away from the executive jet facility at LF Wade International Airport.

Cannabis believed to be worth more than $14 million on the streets was seized, with nine arrests including a customs officer as part of the broader operation.

Police and customs also intercepted $2 million in suspected cannabis, with four people arrested and a shipping container seized, in a raid on March 19.