New Zealand police said Wednesday they found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate.
While they had yet to make any arrests, police said they had dealt a financial blow to everyone from the South American producers of the drugs through to the distributors in what was the nation’s largest-ever drug seizure.New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the cocaine had been dropped at a floating transit point in 81 bales before it was intercepted by a navy ship, which was deployed to the area last week.
"We believe there was enough cocaine to service the Australian market for about one year, and this would be more than New Zealand would use in 30 years," Coster said. He said police, customs and the military found the drugs after launching Operation Hydros in December in collaboration with international partner agencies to identify and monitor the movements of suspicious vessels.
‘Honestly, so amazed’: Watch seventh-grade student win $10k after scoring 4 shots in under 25 secondsBill Perry, the acting comptroller of the New Zealand Customs Service, said the haul illustrated the lengths that organized syndicates were going to in order to smuggle drugs in the South Pacific. "We see perhaps this is just an indication that the transnational organized crime groups are testing the market in different ways, so as agencies, we need to collaborate," Perry said.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Zealand police find 3.5 tons of cocaine in Pacific OceanNew Zealand police say they have found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
Read more »
New Zealand police find over 3 tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific OceanThe cocaine had been dropped at a floating transit point in 81 bales before it was intercepted by a navy ship, police said.
Read more »
New Zealand police find 3.5 tons of cocaine in Pacific OceanNew Zealand police say they found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate.
Read more »
New Zealand just found 3.5 tons of cocaine floating in the PacificThe cache, estimated to be worth $315 million, is large enough to supply the Australian market for a year, and New Zealand’s for three decades, New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said.
Read more »
Cocaine worth half a billion dollars was found in the Pacific OceanAbout half a billion dollars worth of cocaine — enough to service the New Zealand market for 30 years — was found floating in the Pacific Ocean
Read more »
3.5 Tons Of Cocaine Found Floating In The Pacific OceanNew Zealand police intercepted the haul that had been dropped in a remote area by an international drug-smuggling syndicate.
Read more »