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Martinique: seizure of 210 kilos of cocaine aboard a sailboat

2021-04-28T08:44:38.293Z


The interception of a sailboat by the French Navy west of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea, led to the seizure of 210 kilos of cocaine, largely hidden in the structure of the boat, by OFAST teams , the Anti-Narcotic Office in Martinique, we learned Monday from a judicial source. Read also: Nice: a Colombian model who transported cocaine sentenced to prison The sailboat of more than 12 meters flying


The interception of a sailboat by the French Navy west of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea, led to the seizure of 210 kilos of cocaine, largely hidden in the structure of the boat, by OFAST teams , the Anti-Narcotic Office in Martinique, we learned Monday from a judicial source.

Read also: Nice: a Colombian model who transported cocaine sentenced to prison

The sailboat of more than 12 meters flying the Spanish flag was intercepted by a French Navy frigate, the Ventôse, on the night of April 15 to 16. The crew consisted of two men, a 43-year-old Estonian and a 64-year-old Latvian. The 210 kilos of cocaine found on board were intended for the European market, where they could have sold for more than 7 million euros.

According to the public prosecutor of Fort-de-France, Renaud Gaudeul, the ship “

arrived from Europe, had gone to Marin (in Martinique), then off the Guyana plateau in order to load its merchandise, and since there, would have undertaken a priori, the return transatlantic, the most direct route to Europe

”. At sea, the Ventôse sailors had found only 20 kg, or 17 loaves of drugs. “

After 2 days of searches at sea, they haven't found more. The peculiarity of this case is the care taken by individuals to hide the merchandise,

”said Renaud Gaudeul to AFP. "

It was not until they were handed over to OFAST for a partially destructive search of the ship to be carried out for the additional 190kg

". "

This is the first sailboat intercepted this year in the Caribbean,

”an official of OFAST who coordinated this mission told AFP. A mode of transport that had been abandoned over the past 4 or 5 years in favor of the go-fast and tapouilles (fishing boats) of South America. The two suspected drug traffickers were presented to an investigating magistrate of the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Fort-de-France on Friday. They were indicted on charges of drug trafficking in an organized gang and criminal association in connection with this offense and imprisoned at the Ducos prison in Martinique. They face up to 30 years in prison. According to the army,"

More than 5 tonnes of narcotics

" were seized in the Caribbean Sea "

since the start of 2021

”.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-04-28

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