Record two-ton shipment of pure cocaine seized by Senegal’s Navy after smugglers caught off country’s coast

The Senegalese Navy announced that, with the support of France’s Air Force, a record 2,026 kilos of cocaine was seized from drug traffickers while moving through an often used smuggling route off the coast of the African nation.

The vessel carrying the shipment of pure cocaine was found travelling around 363 kilometers (226 miles) off the coast of Senegal. “The first [searches] made it possible to discover on board pure cocaine for an estimated weight of 2026 kg,” the country’s Navy said in a statement.

While five crew members were onboard the vessel transporting the cocaine, it’s not clear if they have been detained, with Senegal simply claiming those on board have “been made available to the competent administrations for further investigations.”

The seizure marks the largest drug bust for the African nation, which intercepted the attempted smuggling operation with the French Air Force’s backing. The previous largest shipment secured was a 2.4 ton package of cocaine that was halted in 2007.

The traffickers had been attempting to move the illegal narcotics along a smuggling route from South America to Europe via West Africa. It is the latest seizure of cocaine by an African nation, following Senegal’s neighbor Gambia busting an attempt to move around three tons of cocaine in January and Morocco halting a container vessel on Monday that contained a shipment of one ton and 335 kilos of the narcotic.

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