The French Navy has seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine, with an estimated street value of over $600 million, in an operation off the coast of West Africa.
The seizure, which took place on Monday, was carried out by two French naval ships. The operation was launched following a tip-off from anti-drug and maritime intelligence authorities, including British police.
The French Atlantic Maritime prefecture confirmed that a total of 9.6 tons of cocaine, valued at approximately €519 million ($609 million), was confiscated from an unregistered fishing vessel. The operation is part of France’s long-running Corymbe naval mission, which has been deployed in the Gulf of Guinea since 1990 to combat piracy, armed robbery, and drug trafficking.
This bust is the latest in a series of large-scale drug interdictions in the region, which has become a major transit hub for narcotics moving from South America to Europe. The French Navy has been particularly active, having already seized nearly six tons of cocaine off the coast of West Africa by the end of August. According to French naval authorities, the total amount of drugs intercepted by the French navy in 2025 has already reached a record high of over 45 tons.
