French navy seizes 8.6 tonnes of narcotics

The French navy seized about 8.6 tonnes of narcotics, mainly cocaine, during several operations this month in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, authorities said Friday.

The operations, carried out with other countries' navies between October 4 and 13, included nearly 6.9 tonnes of cocaine and 1.7 tonnes of marijuana.

The largest seizure led to the arrest of five people in Martinique, the French overseas territory's top local official and the French armed forces said in a joint statement.

That operation took place on October 8 in the Atlantic Ocean, when a French naval vessel intercepted an unflagged fishing boat that authorities said was starting a transatlantic crossing.

Authorities said a French frigate, supported by a helicopter and helped by the Colombian navy, stopped an unflagged speedboat on October 4 and found cocaine and marijuana. They said a Venezuelan fishing boat was found carrying both drugs on October 13.