New Zealand Seizes Largest Ever Drug Haul Worth $300 Million Found Floating at Sea
New Zealand police on Wednesday said that they found more than 3 tonnes of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate. Police said they inflicted a financial blow to everyone involved in the country’s largest-ever drug seizure, from South American producers to dealers of the substances, even though they are yet to make any arrests. According to New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Koster, the cocaine was drppoed at the floating transit point in 81 bales before being seized by a navy ship deployed there since last week. The ship made the six-day voyage back to New Zealand, where the drugs were being documented and destroyed.
The market value of the drug haul found floating in the sea about 500 million New Zealand dollars (316 million US dollars).
“We believe there was enough cocaine to serve the Australian market for approximately one year, and this would be more than New Zealand uses in 30 years,” Coster said.
He said that the drugs were found following the launch of Operation Hydros in December by the police, customs, and military in coordination with foreign partner agencies to track down and identify suspect vessels.
Acting New Zealand Customs Service Comptroller Bill Perry said the incident showed the lengths to which organised syndicates would go to smuggle drugs into the South Pacific.
