Worth almost 300 million euros
More than will be used in 30 years: New Zealand police fish huge amounts of cocaine out of the sea
STORY: Big catch for the New Zealand police. According to the authorities, drugs worth the equivalent of around 300 million euros literally went online. The packages, well wrapped, floated on the sea. 3.2 tons of cocaine – according to police chief Andrew Coster “by far the largest find of illegal drugs by New Zealand authorities”. “We have no doubt that a seizure of this magnitude is a severe financial blow to everyone involved, from manufacturers to retailers.” Investigators suspect the drugs were destined for Australia. The amount seized was sufficient to supply the Australian cocaine market for around a year, Coster said. Initially, there were no arrests.
3.2 tons worth 294 million euros – the New Zealand police never caught more cocaine at once. The amount would have been enough to cover the country’s consumption for three decades.
New Zealand’s police say they have uncovered a huge amount of cocaine off the country’s coast that could have covered the country’s consumption for three decades. Officers recovered 81 packets of cocaine from the sea, weighing a total of 3.2 tons, Police Chief Andrew Coster said at a press conference on Wednesday. The drugs have a street value of the equivalent of 294 million euros.
Drugs were apparently supposed to be brought to Australia
This is “the largest find of illegal drugs” by the New Zealand authorities, said Coster. Authorities believe the drugs were dumped at a “transit point” floating in the Pacific, where they were to be picked up and taken to Australia. The amount would have met the needs of all cocaine users in Australia for a year, the police chief pointed out, adding: “It’s more than New Zealand would use in 30 years.”
A police photo showed that the drug packets were held together in the sea by a net and held afloat by yellow plastic floats. A Batman symbol was emblazoned on some of the drug packages.
Origin of cocaine still unclear
The New Zealand authorities owe the fact that a navy boat found the drugs hundreds of kilometers northwest of New Zealand in the Pacific to tips from the Five Eyes secret service network. The USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand have been exchanging information within this network for decades.
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Coster described the drug find as a “huge success” for both New Zealand and Australia. “There is no doubt that this discovery represents a huge financial loss for the South American producers right down to the sellers of this product,” added the police chief, referring to the cocaine smuggling network. Where exactly the cocaine came from has not yet been determined.