Saturday, April 18, 2015

Cocaine seized record the Caribbean – The Point

This is a record seizure. French customs have seized more than two tons of cocaine, estimated at about 70 million, on a sailboat off the coast of Martinique. The international operation was prepared for two years. Three suspects, two Spaniards and a Venezuelan, were detained on board the ship, said Saturday AFP Antilles-Guyane responsible for the National Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DNRED), Michael Lachaux. There were 2.2 tons of cocaine on board, said at a press conference in Fort-de-France the prosecutor Eric Corbaux, adding that the drug was Saturday being destroyed under surveillance.

The value of the cargo seized is estimated at € 70 million, said Simon Riondet, head of the Caribbean branch of the Central Office for the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs (OCRTIS). In a statement, Finance Minister Michel Sapin and the Secretary of State for the Budget Christian Eckert, on which customs, welcomed the success of an operation described as “difficult and risky.”

The most important decision “white”

This dramatic decision represents one third of the total (6.6 tons) of cocaine seizures by customs at French During the full year 2014. “This is a record for the customs and police,” the head of DNRED. The most important decision “white” by the French authorities (4.3 tonnes) was conducted in November 2006 on a Panamanian cargo ship by the Navy already off Martinique.

The region Caribbean is a hub of drug trafficking. It is close to three major producing countries (Peru, Colombia and Bolivia), which alone produces about 1,000 tons of cocaine per year, almost a quarter is for Europe. Entering this week, “illustrates the strategy of the shield is to protect Europe by acting closer to production areas for cocaine,” said Simon Riondet.



Night, by stormy seas

This is the result of a two-year investigation by the French customs information in connection with the Spanish and British services It mobilized a plane and two stars Coastguard Customs Wednesday around 9:00 p.m. (local time), about 200-220 kilometers offshore of Martinique. “The three suspects, who were on board a yacht of 20 meters, have refused to submit to the control. We had to stop the boat at night by a raging sea,” he told AFP Michael Lachaux of DNRED.

In the boat, the “Silandra”, traveling under a false American flag, the security forces found no less than 80 bales in which cocaine was packaged. “There were everywhere,” are we told to customs. The two Spaniards arrested were “unfavorably known” police and customs services for drug trafficking offenses, according to Michael Lachaux. The name of one of them is related to “acts of terrorism in the 80s,” he added, referring to the Basque separatist organization ETA. “This is a profile that can be found from time to time, former terrorists who are retraining in smuggling activities,” he commented. The three men were in custody Saturday – measures that can last 96 hours in drug cases – Fort-de-France. They should be brought before a judge earlier this week.

LikeTweet

No comments:

Post a Comment