MARIGOT–A significant haul of marijuana was seized by French army and customs agents from a motor yacht south west of St. Martin during the night and morning of June 3 to 4, the Préfecture of Martinique disclosed.
The vessel Lady Margaret was intercepted by the frigate Ventôse 130 miles south west of St. Martin after having been under surveillance for some time and its position confirmed by American air patrols.
524 kilos of marijuana in bundles were found on board the boat representing, according to the report, “about a million doses removed from the streets.”
Suspected of drug-trafficking, information about the vessel was relayed to French authorities by the Joint Inter Agency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) of Key West, Florida, and Direction Nationale du Renseignement et des Enquêtes Douanières (DNRED).
The crew of the Lady Margaret were found to be cooperative during the search. Surveillance frigate Ventôse returned to the naval base in Fort-de-France, Martinique, on Tuesday June 9 where the Central Office for the repression of illegal narcotic-trafficking (OCRTIS) proceeded to destroy the drug shipment.
The operation was conducted under the authority of Préfet of Martinique Fabrice Rigoulet-Roze, delegated representative for Action de L’Etat en Mer in the Antilles, and the armed forces operational centre in Fort de France under the command of Vice-Admiral Georges Bosselot who is the Supreme Commander of armed forces in the Antilles and Commandant of the Antillean maritime zone.
Armed forces in the Caribbean operate regularly in a coordinated fashion with other French jurisdictions and foreign partners to suppress drug-trafficking on the high seas. The operation demonstrated the determination and effectiveness of inter-department action.
This latest drugs haul brings the total drug seizures at sea in 2015 to over 5.8 tonnes by French authorities in the Antilles.
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524 KILOS MARIJUANA SEIZED IN MARIGOT FRENCH ST MARTIN
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