New Zealand said the wholesale value of the cocaine was about $316 million.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand police have found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate.
Police said Wednesday that while they had yet to make any arrests, they had dealt a financial blow to everyone from the South American producers of the drugs through to the distributors in what was the nation’s largest-ever drug seizure. New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the cocaine had been dropped at a floating transit point in 81 bales before it was intercepted by the navy.
In this photo supplied by the New Zealand police, a shipment of cocaine found floating on the surface of the Pacific Ocean sits stacked in a container in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Coster said the wholesale value of the 3.2 tonnes of cocaine was about 500 million New Zealand dollars and it was likely destined for Australia.
He said police, customs and the military found the drugs after launching Operation Hydros in December in collaboration with international partner agencies to identify and monitor the movements of suspicious vessels.
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