a record seizure of ten tons of cocaine made by the French Navy in the Gulf of Guinea

The French Navy seized ten tonnes of cocaine aboard a boat on Sunday in the Gulf of Guinea, Radio France learned on Wednesday March 20 from reliable sources. This is a record seizure for the French authorities.

It is on the basis of information provided in particular by the National Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigations (DNRED), the Anti-Narcotics Office (OFAST) of the judicial police and American services, that a Navy frigate national went to check a fishing boat coming from Brazil. On board, the military discovered “10,693 kg of cocaine, with an estimated market value of nearly 695 million euros,” said the Atlantic maritime prefecture in a press release this Wednesday. The drugs were seized for destruction.

This operation carried out off the African coast, “under the direction of the maritime prefect of the Atlantic and the public prosecutor of Brest” was initiated “with the agreement of the flag State [le Brésil] pursuant to Article 17 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”, explains the Atlantic maritime prefecture. “The perfect cooperation between national and international actors in the fight against narcotics made it possible to obtain this exceptional result”greets this same source. “It illustrates the effectiveness of the action of the French State at sea in the context of the protection of external borders and the fight against organized crime,” continues the prefecture.

On December 6, 2023, in the same sector, the French Navy had already seized more than five tons of cocaine, with an estimated value of some 330 million euros.