A Brazilian ship with more than 4.6 tons of cocaine on board has been stopped in the Atlantic Ocean by the French navy. The charge was estimated at 150 million euros, the European police authority Europol reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the 21-meter ship was arrested on Nov. 30 en route to Europe in international waters off the coast of Sierra Leone.
Europol, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center for Drugs and authorities from Brazil, France, Great Britain and the United States participated in the joint operation. Investigations into the criminal gangs involved on both sides of the Atlantic are ongoing, the statement said.
The world’s largest producers of cocaine
The South American countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are among the world’s largest producers of cocaine, made from the coca plant. Criminal organizations in Brazil control the drug market in Latin America’s largest country, as well as exports to Europe.
Much of the cocaine is smuggled into the United States. For example, there have been record confiscations in Germany and the Netherlands in recent years. Europe has recently become a hub for the cocaine trade. Drugs destined for Asia, the Middle East and Australia are also often shipped first to Europe because containers from there are less heavily checked on the further journey.
Source: Krone
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