More than $300 million worth of cocaine has been found floating in a net in the Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand Police said Wednesday that the discovery of the 3.2 tons of drugs – which is believed to have been destined for Australia – has dealt a “significant blow to an international criminal syndicate’s operation.”
“There is no doubt this discovery lands a major financial blow right from the South American producers through to the distributors of this product,” Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in a statement.
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Bags of cocaine, said to be recovered by New Zealand Police, Customs and the New Zealand Defence Force at sea, are seen in a net floating in the Pacific Ocean, in this undated handout image released on Feb. 8, 2023. (Reuters/New Zealand Police)
He described the haul as “one of the single biggest seizures of illegal drugs by authorities in this country.”
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The bricks of cocaine recovered by authorities from New Zealand. (New Zealand Police/Reuters)
Authorities say 81 bales of cocaine – which according to Reuters is estimated to be worth about $320 million – have been returned to New Zealand where they will be destroyed.
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A New Zealand official stacks bricks of cocaine following the discovery.
No arrests have been made yet, but the investigation remains ongoing.
“It is a huge illustration of what lengths organized crime will go to with their global drug trafficking operations and shows that we are not exempt from major organized criminal drug smuggling efforts in this part of the world,” New Zealand Customs Service Acting Controller Bill Perry said in a statement.
