The strengthening of passenger controls at Cayenne airport, in French Guiana, has prevented the exit of a large quantity of cocaine to France since July 1.
Three reinforced control operations took place and made it possible to "seize or prevent the loading of a ton of cocaine", said the prefect of Cayenne, Thierry Quéfellec, during a press briefing on insecurity on Thursday.
According to the prefecture, "17 to 20%" of the nearly 600 passengers checked during these large-scale operations were carrying drugs.
A new strategy
At the beginning of June, the police in Guyana implemented a new strategy to fight cocaine trafficking, by controlling all passengers from Cayenne airport departing for metropolitan France.
Each time, passengers are notified of the check the day before, by SMS.
"A strategy that dissuades smugglers, also called mules, from showing up for boarding," said the prefect who wants to "break the logistics of traffickers and create uncertainty in their mode of management".
In Guyana, Felix-Eboué airport is the main exit door to France and serves the Paris airports of Roissy and Orly.
According to the prefect Thierry Queffelec, 20% of the cocaine consumed in mainland France comes from Guyana, a traffic hub.
A Guyanese woman carried a kilo of cocaine in her stomach
Company
French Guiana: Extensive operation by the gendarmerie against an illegal gold panning network
Miscellaneous facts
Guyana
Cocaine
Drug traffic
Airport