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Drug trafficking: dropping at sea, a new technique for drug traffickers
In November, a fisherman from Fécamp, in Seine-Maritime, hauled into his nets bales of drugs which contained 695 kilos of cocaine. Faced with increasing seizures in ports, drug traffickers are carrying out drug dropping operations at sea. – (France 2)
In November, a fisherman from Fécamp, in Seine-Maritime, hauled into his nets bales of drugs which contained 695 kilos of cocaine. Faced with increasing seizures in ports, drug traffickers are carrying out drug dropping operations at sea.
The waters of the Hide sleeveDo they have an unsuspected stock of cocaine today? This is the unexpected catch that a Norman fisherman from Fécamp (Seine-Maritime) caught in his nets in November. He found bundles of drugs which contained 695 kilos of white powder worth 22 million euros. It is no longer rare to see the tide carrying cocaine onto French beaches. Pas-de-Calais, Seine-Maritime, Calvados… In total, this represents three tonnes of drugs stranded in 2023 alone.
Strengthening controls in 2024
These bales of powder would have drifted during a drug trafficking operation to drop them at sea. The cargoes are deliberately thrown into the open sea from a commercial boat. Equipped with a GPS beacon, they are then fished out by smaller and faster accomplice boats to be transported to land, avoiding ports.Cocaine seizures have exploded in recent years in the ports of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (Netherlands). To find a solution, traffickers are constantly transforming their practices, soon with maritime drones, as the authorities fear. The ministry promises to strengthen controls in 2024, including in the smallest ports.
