In a significant blow against drug trafficking, the French Navy, with support from the MAOC-N, intercepted a vessel carrying over 10 tonnes of cocaine in the Gulf of Guinea. This seizure, amounting to 10693kg, marks a record-breaking achievement for MAOC-N, surpassing the previous record of 9.5 tonnes seized in the vessel ESER, a general cargo, back in 2019.
The interception took place in the early hours of March 14th, 2024, when the French Navy boarded a 20-meter-long fishing vessel that had departed Brazil and was heading to the Gulf of Guinea.
French agencies OFAST and DNRED, in collaboration with partners from MAOC-N, initiated the intervention based on information obtained through a thorough investigation conducted alongside the Brazilian Federal Police.
Crucially, the successful seizure was made possible through intelligence provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from the US, and by the National Crime Agency (NCA) from the UK, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in tackling drug trafficking.
