The French navy has intercepted nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine, valued at over $600 million, from a fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa, authorities announced Thursday.
The dramatic seizure, carried out on Monday by two French warships, followed a coordinated intelligence operation involving French anti-drug and maritime agencies, as well as British police. Officials said the vessel was unregistered, raising further suspicion.
“In total, 9.6 tonnes of cocaine with a market value of nearly €519 million ($609 million) were seized,” the Atlantic Maritime prefecture confirmed.
The operation formed part of France’s Corymbe naval mission, a long-running deployment in the Gulf of Guinea launched in 1990 to bolster maritime security in a region plagued by piracy and smuggling.
This latest bust adds to a series of major drug interceptions this year. By late August, the French navy had already seized nearly six tonnes of cocaine in the same waters.
With more than 45 tonnes of narcotics confiscated in 2025 alone, France has already set a record for annual maritime drug seizures, according to Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Naval Staff.
The haul underscores both the scale of transatlantic cocaine trafficking routes and France’s expanding role in combating organized crime networks operating off West Africa’s coast.
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