French navy seizes more than 8.6 tonnes of drugs in the Caribbean and Atlantic

Drugs seized, in tonnes

6.9 tonnes of cocaine 1.7 tonnes of marijuana

Several operations between Oct 4 and 13 seized about 6.9 tonnes of cocaine and 1.7 tonnes of marijuana, French authorities said, working with Colombia, the United States, the Netherlands, England and Venezuela.

Cocaine on one fishing boat

5,292 kg

The largest seizure came on Oct 8 in the Atlantic, when a French warship stopped a flagless fishing boat starting a transatlantic crossing. It held 150 bales of cocaine weighing 5,292 kilograms.

Its five crew members were taken to Fort-de-France and detained in Martinique. Crews and cargo from two other interceptions in the Caribbean were handed to Colombian and Venezuelan authorities.