French Navy Intercepts Drug-Smuggling Go-Fast Boat

The French navy opened fire on a go-fast boat in the Atlantic to immobilise it, arrest its crew, and seize 2.4 tonnes of cocaine valued at $150 million, authorities announced on Tuesday.

The interception occurred on Friday night off the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, situated in the Atlantic Ocean near Morocco, according to France’s maritime prefecture for the Atlantic.

The operation was carried out in coordination with US and UK law enforcement agencies, and in cooperation with Portuguese and Spanish authorities, the prefecture said in a statement.

A French navy warship, deploying its onboard helicopter, along with a surveillance plane and a coast guard vessel, were used to bring the drug-smuggling vessel to a halt.

“The use of force was necessary to immobilise the go-fast because it refused to obey instructions to stop,” the prefecture stated.

Authorities recovered a total of 2,373 kilograms of cocaine from the boat, with an estimated value of 128 million euros ($150 million). The crew were arrested, though the statement did not specify their number or nationalities.

Key Details of the Interception

The operation highlights continued international cooperation against transatlantic drug trafficking and the French navy’s capability to intercept high-speed maritime smuggling operations.