Police say the drugs, enough to supply New Zealand for 30 years, were found in the Pacific and were likely destined for Australia.
New Zealand authorities have found 3.2 tons of cocaine worth more than $300 million found floating in the Pacific Ocean and believed to be bound for Australia.
Police said the haul of 81 bales that drifted hundreds of kilometers northwest of New Zealand was discovered in a joint operation with the Customs and New Zealand Defense Forces, based on intelligence from the Five Eyes alliance, which also includes Australia, United States of America and USA. USA, Canada and UK.
“This is the largest illegal drug find by New Zealand agencies by some margin,” said New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Koster.
Officials believe the drugs were dumped on a “floating staging post” in the Pacific Ocean, where they were supposed to be picked up and delivered to Australia.
“We believe it was intended for Australia, where it would be sufficient to serve the market for one year,” Koster said.
“That’s more than New Zealand would use in 30 years.”
A police photo shows that the huge catch was tied with netting and covered in yellow floats. Some of the bales had the Batman symbol on them, and the cocaine packages inside were marked with what appeared to be the imprint of a four-leaf clover.
Coster described the arrest as a “huge result” for New Zealand and Australian police.
“There is no doubt that this discovery will deal a serious financial blow to both South American manufacturers and distributors of this product,” he added.
Officials said it was too early to tell where the drugs came from.
No arrests were made.
Credit: www.aljazeera.com /