crime
Three tons of cocaine in the sea: record drug discovery off New Zealand
According to police chief Andrew Coster, the drugs found off New Zealand in the Pacific are worth an estimated 500 million New Zealand dollars (294 million euros). photo
© Uncredited/NZ Police/AP/dpa
Time and time again, investigators come across large quantities of illegal substances in international waters – but what authorities have now uncovered in New Zealand is beyond the imagination of many.
New Zealand authorities have seized more than three tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean off the island nation. According to Police Chief Andrew Coster, the drugs are worth an estimated 500 million New Zealand dollars (294 million euros). It is the largest find of illegal drugs in the country’s history, Coster said at a press conference. The amount would therefore have been enough to supply customers in Australia with cocaine for a year – or in New Zealand for 30 years.
“This find is undoubtedly a major financial blow to the South American manufacturers right down to the retailers of this product,” said Coster. The cocaine was apparently dropped northeast of New Zealand at a transit point in international waters – whether from a ship or an airplane was not known. According to the police, the drugs were probably intended for the Australian market. It is believed that they were to be picked up by a ship at the drop point.
So far, no one has been arrested in connection with the find, Coster said. However, the security forces worked with international partners in their investigations. The “Operation Hydros” that led to the confiscation was a collaboration between the police, customs and the New Zealand armed forces.
The seizure is a good example of how far organized crime goes in its global drug trade, said Bill Perry, a customs spokesman. “It shows that in this part of the world we are not exempt from organized criminal drug smuggling on a large scale.”