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More than 4.5 tons of cocaine were seized on Wednesday November 30 by the French navy in the Gulf of Guinea. The drug shipment, worth around 150 million euros, was on board a Brazilian tugboat and was discovered during an operation carried out as part of an international investigation, in particular in cooperation with Brazilian and American authorities.
The operation was carried out in the early morning and was not the result of chance, specifies the maritime prefecture of the Atlantic, in the West of France : the Brazilian vessel of 21 meters had been under surveillance for several days.
At the time of the operation, an army battle group was on board the Tonnerre, a French amphibious helicopter carrier with a crew of more than 200 people. Supported by a Falcon 50 and two helicopters, the French carried out a search of the Brazilian ship, ” off Senegal ».
They discover bales which, in total, contain 4.6 tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated value of around 150 million euros.
The maritime prefecture of the Atlantic does not give details on the route of the boat or on its final destination: Europe, or Africa… both possibilities can be considered.
The products are seized, destroyed on board, according to the maritime prefecture, which does not specify the method used for the destruction.
The crew was left free to him. At the prefecture of Brest, it is indicated that France has made the choice, for several years, to dissociate the crew and the cargo.
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