The French navy recovers almost 5 tons of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean

The French navy seized 4.87 tons of cocaine, believed to be destined for Australia, from a fishing vessel in the South Pacific, French officials said, calling it a record seizure for the region.

The ship from Central America was intercepted on January 16, France’s High Commissioner to French Polynesia said in a statement on Monday, adding that its armed forces mobilized “significant human and material resources” for the operation.

The cocaine was transported on a ship that sailed under the flag of Togo and was destined for the Australian market, according to a source close to the investigation.

The ten Honduran crew members and one Ecuadorian would not be prosecuted by French authorities, according to the source, but their home countries had the option of starting legal proceedings against them.

Authorities released an image of the operation, showing a military helicopter flying over a ship with packages placed on the deck.

“This record seizure is a successful result of the new territorial plan to combat narcotics,” the commission said in a statement. “This illustrates the strategic nature of the regional cooperation carried out by France with its closest partners, in particular the United States and Australia, in the fight against drug trafficking.”

The United Nations has said in recent years that organized crime groups trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine have expanded their presence in the Pacific. Large quantities of drugs are transported from North and South America to markets in Australia and New Zealand, according to the UN

Cocaine has been found on fishing boats around the world in recent months.

Last September, the French navy said so They seized almost 10 tons of cocaine. worth more than $600 million worth of a fishing boat off the coast of West Africa.

Last April, the United States Coast Guard confiscated approximately 10,000 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean. That loot had an estimated value of 74 million dollars.

In December 2024, the police confiscated 2.3 tons of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after the suspects’ fishing boat broke down off the coast of Australia.