The French Navy seizes almost 900 kg of cocaine off the African coast
On Monday 4 March 2024, under the direction of the Préfet Maritime de l’Atlantique and the Public Prosecutor of Brest, an amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) and a La Fayette frigate (FLF) seized 894 kg of cocaine off the coast of West Africa.
The French Anti-Narcotics Office (OFAST) had requested the intervention of the French Navy, in the light of information transmitted by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) (MAOC-N).
Supported by the flight of a French Navy Falcon 50, which helped to identify the boat, the visiting team from the amphibious helicopter carrier deployed as part of the Jeanne d’Arc 2024 mission intervened in the early afternoon of Monday 4 March 2024, on a fifteen-metre sailing boat.
Conducted in the Gulf of Guinea, off the African coast, the operation was initiated on the basis of article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay), and resulted in the discovery of narcotics under the amended law 94-589 of 15 July 1994.
A total of 894kg of cocaine, with a market value in France estimated at nearly 60 million euros[i], was seized on board the sailing boat and then transferred to the amphibious helicopter carrier for destruction.
The Brest public prosecutor’s office, which was directly involved in assessing the legal framework of the operation, ruled in favour of applying the provisions of the aforementioned amended law of 15 July 1994.
This remarkable result was achieved thanks to perfect cooperation between national and international players in the fight against drugs. It illustrates the effectiveness of the French government’s action at sea in protecting external borders and combating organised crime. The Jeanne d’Arc 2024 (JDA24) mission is a long-term operational deployment by which France ensures its presence in several areas of interest in the Americas. This mission enables us to maintain strategic partnerships while providing a concrete, realistic and high-quality training framework for the student officers on board.
Through its deployment, the joint force making up JDA24 helps to assert France’s sovereignty in its overseas territories. As a catalyst for military cooperation, the Jeanne d’Arc group can be used to carry out a wide range of actions, mobilising forces of presence and sovereignty, as well as partner countries in the regions traversed, in training scenarios ranging from protecting populations in the face of political and climatic crises to combating illegal trafficking at sea.
Lastly, the amphibious group and its onboard helicopters provide a short-notice response capability, enabling it, if necessary, to help protect French and European interests.
[i] Estimate based on the UNODC’s Global Cocaine Report 2023.
