More than 1.2 tons of bales of cocaine, of unknown origin, has been recovered for more than a month at the mercy of tides on the French Atlantic coast, it was reported Tuesday at the parquet floor of Rennes.
"We are at 1,225 kilos with a net slowdown for two days," said the Rennes public prosecutor, Philippe Astruc, who does not want to communicate on the investigation.
The size of a shoebox, surrounded by cellophane to be sealed, these bales contain cocaine base to a high degree of purity (83%). Since mid-October, the drug arrives sparingly on the French coast on an area that extends from the Landes to Finistère. A rare phenomenon, which reminds that traffickers prefer maritime transport.
Investigators favor the track of a load shedding
Transport accident, voluntary load shedding? The circumstances are still unknown, but investigators prefer the track of "a load shedding after a damage or a storm," said last week the prosecutor of Rennes.
Most of the cocaine comes from the three major producing countries: Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. The Old Continent is the second largest market in the world, behind North America. Traffickers must find effective ways to cross the Atlantic.
Carrying this type of product is an offense punishable by 10 years imprisonment.
A 17-year-old man arrested last week with 5 kg of cocaine found on a beach in Lacanau, Gironde, who said he wanted to "bring back the gendarmes", was indicted for "possession of narcotics" and placed under judicial control.