New Zealand police announced on Wednesday they seized 3.2 tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean, enough to supply the country for “thirty years”.
New Zealand Police Chief Andrew Coster said the 81 packages of cocaine weighed 3.2 tonnes and had a market value of about $316 million.
“This is the largest ever discovery of illegal drugs by New Zealand authorities,” he added.
Authorities believe the cocaine, tied to a net and covered with yellow corks, was placed on a “floating transit point” in the Pacific Ocean.
“We think so [a droga] was destined to reach Australia, where it would be enough to feed the market for a year,” the police commissioner explained. “It’s more than New Zealand would use in 30 years,” he added.
A naval vessel intercepted the packages, which drifted hundreds of miles northwest of New Zealand.
“There is no doubt that this discovery is a major financial blow to South American drug manufacturers and distributors,” Coster said, adding that this arrest is an “important result” for authorities in New Zealand and Australia.
However, authorities said it was too early to determine where the drug came from.
Source: DN
