{"id":170832,"date":"2023-02-10T04:46:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T04:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=170832"},"modified":"2023-02-10T04:46:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T04:46:52","slug":"enough-cocaine-to-supply-australia-for-a-year-found-in-260m-ocean-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/enough-cocaine-to-supply-australia-for-a-year-found-in-260m-ocean-haul\/","title":{"rendered":"Enough cocaine ‘to supply Australia for a year’ found in \u00a3260m ocean haul"},"content":{"rendered":"

A massive seizure of 7,700lbs of cocaine has been secured by authorities in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

The shipment of the class A drug was found afloat in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Police force training drug-sniffing squirrels to join elite narcotics division<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt this discovery lands a major financial blow right from the South American producers through to the distributors of this product.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the single biggest seizures of illegal drugs by authorities in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While no arrests have yet been made, customs officials have estimated that the total value of the seized cocaine was more than $315million (\u00a3260m).<\/p>\n

Officials confirmed that the shipment was split into 81 bales and was left by smugglers at a drop point in the ocean.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

New Zealand authorities said they will continue to investigate the case and they will monitor "suspicious" vessels.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

That amount of the class A drug would be enough to kill the population of the US five times over.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

"Fentanyl is a weapon that is coming across our borders that's killing young people at a record level," he said.<\/p>\n

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