PAPEETE: Police have seized 436 kilogrammes (960 pounds) of cocaine hidden on a yacht in French Polynesian waters and arrested four men, the Papeete public prosecutor said Saturday.
Officers moved in on the boat at the Apataki atoll, in the Tuamotu archipelago to the east of Tahiti, after spotting the suspect vessel which had sailed from Panama with four men of Italian and Peruvian nationalities onboard.
An initial inspection of the boat Wednesday found a compartment in the infrastructure containing 341 bricks and packages of cocaine weighing about 341 kilos, prosecutor Herve Leroy said.
The 15-metre (50-foot) yacht was brought back to the French Polynesian capital Papeete and a further inspection found more drugs, for a total haul of 436 kilos.
The four arrested men are being held in police custody. They face up to 30 years in prison and 7.5 million euros ($8.4 million) in fines if convicted.
"The amount of drugs seized and the international dimension of this smuggling" mean the case will be sent to Paris, Leroy said.
There have been several seizures of drug-running yachts in Polynesian waters in recent years, with the crews of six boats arrested since 2016.
"This confirms that French Polynesia is perfectly identified as the crossing point for a sea route used by drug traffickers from Latin America in order to sell their cocaine in countries in the Pacific zone, or even Asia," Leroy said.
In 2017 the French navy seized 1.46 tonnes of cocaine on a yacht off the Pacific territory of New Caledonia. The boat was headed for Australia, where high prices make it an attractive destination for drug smugglers.
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