The French navy has seized nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $610 million (£540 million), off the coast of West Africa, French authorities announced.
Two French naval vessels operating as part of Operation Corymbe intercepted the enormous cocaine haul from an unflagged fishing vessel on Monday, acting on a tip-off from maritime intelligence, anti-drug authorities, and the British National Crime Agency.
The Corymbe naval mission has been deployed by France in the Gulf of Guinea since 1990 to ensure security in an area where piracy is fairly common.
The French navy reported that 54 tonnes of drugs had been intercepted in the region since the beginning of the year.
France's Atlantic Maritime Prefecture emphasized that seamless cooperation by national and international actors in the fight against narcotics led to this remarkable seizure of 9.6 tonnes of cocaine.
The Gulf of Guinea has seen several drug busts in recent months, with the area being a key transit point in the global trafficking of narcotics, particularly cocaine from South America to Europe.
Once deemed the world's most dangerous area for maritime piracy, the Gulf of Guinea has become a focus for several Western countries that have sent ships to help address piracy issues in the region.
A record cocaine seizure of 10.7 tonnes was made by the French navy in March last year, marking the largest interception of the illegal trade off the coast of West Africa.
