POLICE on the Isle of Wight have arrested three men, including a man from Windsor, on suspicion of drug dealing.

A small fishing boat in Yarmouth Harbour was also seized at the scene.

Officers were called by the Needles Coastguard at 8.51pm on Saturday, October 14, after Yarmouth RNLI provided assistance to Portsmouth boat, the Yvonne T.

Three men — a 40-year-old from Windsor, a 54-year-old from Gosport and a 40-year-old from Portsmouth — were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

"A boat has also been seized as part of the investigation, with inquiries ongoing to establish the circumstances," a Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said.

Yarmouth RNLI were called out at 3.16pm on Saturday following a report of a boat with engine trouble 12 miles south of The Needles.

The boat had drifted west from 12 miles south of St Catherine's Point before the men raised the alarm.

Yarmouth RNLI towed the Yvonne T back to Yarmouth, arriving at 8.40pm.

The Needles Coastguard are often on standby at Yarmouth whenever a boat is towed back.

Police are yet to confirm whether the arrests are linked to a massive National Crime Agency operation in which cocaine packages were recently washed up on Isle of Wight beaches.

In a short statement, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: "We are currently investigating to establish the full circumstances — and whether there are any links to any other investigations."

The National Crime Agency has already said the drugs already discovered washed up on beaches and found at sea were most likely transported from South America onto a merchant ship.

"Law enforcement remain vigilant to the possibility that further packages could be recovered", a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Packages were discovered on Island beaches last weekend and, on October 2, a fisherman found sports bags containing hundreds of kilos of powder off the Dorset coast.