‘Narco- travelers’ comb French beaches after drug cleans up

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    Emily Sørensen
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    Pedestrians search for bagsof drugs in Neville sur Mer, northwestern France, on March 2, 2023. - More than two tons of cocaine packed in bags washed up last weekend and on March 1, 2023, on the Channel coast, with an estimated retail value of nearly 150 million euros, a source close to the case said on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

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    People were spotted looking for bags of drugs in Néville-sur-Mer, a previous commune in northwestern France (Picture: AFP)

    People in high-end vehicles and 4x4s have actually been flooding beachside French towns after a shell-hunting couple discovered ₤50,000,000 worth of drug.

    Proving that love isn’t dead, the lovebirds discovered 850 kilos of the Class A drug along the coasts of Réville, a commune in Normandy, on February 26.

    It was saved in a set of big building and construction bags that had actually cleaned ashore, survived along the English Channel by containers and life vest.

    Six more bundles of drug weighing around 1.5 tonnes appeared on the beachside of the neighboring Vicq- sur-Me commune on Wednesday.

    Story from Jam Press (Cocaine Discovery) Pictured: The packages of cocaine discovered on the beach. Shellshocked! Lovebirds looking for shells on beach discover tonne of COCAINE A couple looking for shells on the beach were shocked to find nearly a tonne of cocaine - worth over ??50 million. The lovebirds were enjoying a romantic stroll on the sands when they spotted the suspicious construction bags. They immediately informed the police and the huge white sacks were found to contain 40 packages of the Class A drug inside. They had washed up on the shore during low tide from the English Channel. The drugs were found in R??ville, Normandy, France - just 60 miles from the Isle of Wight. The bags were kept afloat at sea by canisters and life jackets and tied with rope. Officers on the scene confirmed that the packages were filled with 800kg (0.88 tonnes) of cocaine. The authorities said the consignment has a street value of about ??53.3 million. French Police spokesperson Colonel Bruno Langlois said: ???We have launched technical and scientific police investigations to determine whether we can find traces of DNA on the packaging.??? The unnamed couple told local media: ???Every time there is a storm, a lot of things wash up on the beach. ???But we usually come here to collect shells, not cocaine. ???Boats are passing this coast all the time, I imagine there are a lot of traffickers.??? The find was made on 26 February. In 2019, 1.6 tons of cocaine washed up on the coastline after the vessel shed its load during a violent storm. Drug shipments from South America often arrive at major northern European ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Le Havre. Several times a year, shipments lost at sea wash up on the coast, but it is considered rare to find a consignment as big as this one. The investigation is ongoing. ENDS

    The drug bundles were found by a couple walking along the beach (Picture: Jam Press)

    Story from Jam Press (Cocaine Discovery) Pictured: The packages of cocaine discovered on the beach. Shellshocked! Lovebirds looking for shells on beach discover tonne of COCAINE A couple looking for shells on the beach were shocked to find nearly a tonne of cocaine - worth over ??50 million. The lovebirds were enjoying a romantic stroll on the sands when they spotted the suspicious construction bags. They immediately informed the police and the huge white sacks were found to contain 40 packages of the Class A drug inside. They had washed up on the shore during low tide from the English Channel. The drugs were found in R??ville, Normandy, France - just 60 miles from the Isle of Wight. The bags were kept afloat at sea by canisters and life jackets and tied with rope. Officers on the scene confirmed that the packages were filled with 800kg (0.88 tonnes) of cocaine. The authorities said the consignment has a street value of about ??53.3 million. French Police spokesperson Colonel Bruno Langlois said: ???We have launched technical and scientific police investigations to determine whether we can find traces of DNA on the packaging.??? The unnamed couple told local media: ???Every time there is a storm, a lot of things wash up on the beach. ???But we usually come here to collect shells, not cocaine. ???Boats are passing this coast all the time, I imagine there are a lot of traffickers.??? The find was made on 26 February. In 2019, 1.6 tons of cocaine washed up on the coastline after the vessel shed its load during a violent storm. Drug shipments from South America often arrive at major northern European ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Le Havre. Several times a year, shipments lost at sea wash up on the coast, but it is considered rare to find a consignment as big as this one. The investigation is ongoing. ENDS

    Investigators aren’t sure where the ₤50,000,000 worth of narcotics originated from (Picture: Jam Press)

    Pedestrians search for bagsof drugs in Neville sur Mer, northwestern France, on March 2, 2023. - More than two tons of cocaine packed in bags washed up last weekend and on March 1, 2023, on the Channel coast, with an estimated retail value of nearly 150 million euros, a source close to the case said on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

    Residents of towns along the Normandy coast have actually reported unknown faces combing their coasts for drug (Picture: Getty Images/ AFP)

    The batches have actually an approximated overall worth of ₤133,000,000, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

    But now authorities are cautioning versus ‘narco-tourism’ after locals of Normandy towns have actually explained an increase of unknown individuals.

    Réville mayor Yves Asseline informed the Le Parisien paper the other day: ‘The sea brings us numerous things however this is clearly really uncommon.

    ‘We’ ve seen individuals getting here in 4x4s, brand name brand-new vehicles or with quad bikes on the beach, often at dawn with head torches.’

    ‘When the gendarmes, prior to leaving the beach in a safe convoy, opened the van for me in which they had actually saved the lots of bags including this drug, I stated to myself: “But what world do we live in?”’ he included.

    Local district attorney Philippe Astruc provided a public caution to beachcombers the other day.

    Gendarmes patrols the beach of the Blankenese battery in Neville sur Mer, northwestern France, on March 2, 2023. - More than two tons of cocaine packed in bags washed up last weekend and on March 1, 2023, on the Channel coast, with an estimated retail value of nearly 150 million euros, a source close to the case said on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

    Cocaine was likewise found in Néville-sur-mer (Picture: AFP)

    French gendarmes leaves after they patrol the beach of the Blankenese battery in Neville sur Mer, northwestern France, on March 2, 2023. - More than two tons of cocaine packed in bags washed up last weekend and on March 1, 2023, on the Channel coast, with an estimated retail value of nearly 150 million euros, a source close to the case said on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

    French gendarmes have actually been patrolling the beach of the Blankenese battery in Neville- sur-Mer (Picture: AFP)

    ‘The act of taking possession of one of these bundles and transporting it is a crime that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison,’ he informed press reporters.

    Astruc included that the imported drug is most likely 80-90% pure– method more powerful than the kind normally offered by street dealerships– which might be ‘fatal’ if taken in.

    ‘At the present time, we don’ t understand the pureness of this compound,’ he stated.

    A boy passed away after taking drug from a 1.6-tonne delivery that appeared along the French Atlantic coast in 2019, the district attorney cautioned.

    Along Néville-sur-mer in Vicq- sur-Mer on Thursday, a group of masked individuals worn black tracksuits were spotted combing the beach.

    Armed military authorities officers, called gendarmes, have actually been patrolling the beach while helicopters look down from below.

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    Local district attorneys opened an examination into the washed-up drug on Monday (Picture: AFP)

    Investigators are baffled regarding where the drug originated from.

    It might have been tossed overboard by traffickers to prevent arrest or it fell overboard due to rocky weather condition, sources informed AFP.

    On Wednesday, the federal government stated that it had actually taken 27 tonnes of drug in 2015, a five-fold boost over the previous years.

    In 2021, seizures of the narcotic increased by 5%, according to interior ministry figures.

    The bulk of drug goes into Europe through northern ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and France’s Le Havre.

    Get in touch with our news group by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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