TIME France

French Customs Officials Seize Record Cocaine Haul in Caribbean

FRANCE-OVERSEAS-DRUG-CUSTOMS
Douanes Francaises—AFP/Getty Images This file photo released on April 18, 2015 by French customs in Fort Saint-Louis military base in Fort-de-France, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique shows packs of cocaine stored after they were seized on April 15, 2015 on a sailboat off the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

More than one-third of what they took in last year

More than two tons of cocaine was seized from a boat off Martinique that was falsely sailing under an American flag, French authorities said Saturday, marking a record haul.

France’s Finance Ministry said the Wednesday raid took place 125 miles off the coast of the French Caribbean island and led to the arrest of three people, one Venezuelan and two Spanish citizens. Officials from Britain and Spain also participated in the operation.

Last week’s haul accounts for more than one-third of the 6.6 tons of cocaine that French customs officials seized in 2014.

Tap to read full story

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com


YOU BROKE TIME.COM!

Dear TIME Reader,

As a regular visitor to TIME.com, we are sure you enjoy all the great journalism created by our editors and reporters. Great journalism has great value, and it costs money to make it. One of the main ways we cover our costs is through advertising.

The use of software that blocks ads limits our ability to provide you with the journalism you enjoy. Consider turning your Ad Blocker off so that we can continue to provide the world class journalism you have become accustomed to.

The TIME Team