(SNO) – Two men have been arrested after French Customs officials seized 1.5 tons of cocaine valued at 60 million euros in a sailboat off Martinique, according to Martinique 1ère.
Reports are that on the night of July 19, Customs officials from St. Martin spotted the boat and suspected it of trafficking drugs. However, due to the bad sea conditions they were unable to do much, but the suspects agreed to follow the Customs officials to St. Martin.
At 10 a.m., the two suspects reportedly set fire to their boat and took refuge on their life raft. The Navy were able to extinguish the fire and during a search of the boat Customs officials discover the narcotics – valued at 60 million euros on resale – packaged in plastic bags.
The men were then arrested.
Minister of Action and Public Accounts Gerald Darmanin said in a statement that this seizure is a result of a multi-month investigation and “the exploitation of information collected by the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED) and in particular its Fort-de-France unit”.
In addition, the arrests were also part of an investigation by the Inter-regional Specialized Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Fort-de-France and the local office of the Central Office for the Suppression of the Illegal Traffic narcotics (OCRTIS).
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