A massive seizure of 7,700lbs of cocaine has been secured by authorities in New Zealand.
The shipment of the class A drug was found afloat in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.
Andrew Coster, the New Zealand Police Commissioner, spoke about the magnitude of the seizure and the effect it has financially on the producers of the drug.
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“There is no doubt this discovery lands a major financial blow right from the South American producers through to the distributors of this product.
“This is one of the single biggest seizures of illegal drugs by authorities in this country.”
While no arrests have yet been made, customs officials have estimated that the total value of the seized cocaine was more than $315million (£260m).
Officials confirmed that the shipment was split into 81 bales and was left by smugglers at a drop point in the ocean.
The operation to seize the narcotics was called Operation Hydros and resulted in the Royal New Zealand Navy ship transporting the drugs to New Zealand where they will be destroyed.
New Zealand authorities said they will continue to investigate the case and they will monitor "suspicious" vessels.
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Massive seizures of drugs seems to be a recurring theme this year as US Border Patrol announced that just this year, over 7,000lbs of fentanyl has been seized.
That amount of the class A drug would be enough to kill the population of the US five times over.
Gary Palmer, the U.S. representative of Alabama, labelled fentanyl as a "weapon" that's coming across the border and killing a high rate of young people.
"Fentanyl is a weapon that is coming across our borders that's killing young people at a record level," he said.
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