Archive image: An Airbus AS565 Panther helicopter (military version of AS365 N3 aircraft) attached to the French navy Floréal-class frigate FS Germinal (F735), lands on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24).
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Bellino.
In a significant blow against drug trafficking, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) with the support of MAOC-N intercepted a fishing vessel carrying more than 10 tons of cocaine in the Gulf of Guinea.
This seizure of cocaine during a French Navy counter-drug operation, that amounting to 10,693 kg, marks a record-breaking achievement for Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics (MAOC-N), surpassing the previous record of 9.5 tons seized in the vessel ESER, a general cargo, back in the year 2019.
The interception took place in the early hours of the past Thursday, March 14, 2024, when the Marine Nationale members 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 United States, and by the National Crime Agency (NCA) from the United Kingdom, underscoring the importance of international cooperation in tackling drug trafficking.
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