Germinal seizes 561 kg of cannabis from a yole west of Martinique; seven held
French navy sailors on the frigate Germinal recovered nine bales holding 561 kg of cannabis after intercepting a yole on the high seas west of Martinique on 24 May 2022, and the seven Venezuelans aboard were handed to the OFAST anti-drug office. Brought to the Fort-de-France criminal court in immediate appearance, the seven were remanded in detention and their trial was adjourned to 13 June 2022.
The French navy surveillance frigate Germinal spotted a yole, a fast open boat,
travelling without lights or flag on the high seas west of Martinique on 24 May
2022.[1]Some reports described the boat as a “lancha” or “go-fast”, other
names for the same fast open vessel.[2]The recovered cannabis weighed 561 kg,
according to the Fort-de-France prosecutor’s account, while the navy’s own
publication put the figure at 560 kg.[1]
The seven crew members, all stating that they were Venezuelan nationals, were
handed with the boat and the drugs to the Caribbean branch of OFAST, France’s
anti-narcotics office, on 25 May 2022.[2]The prosecutor in charge was
Clarisse Taron, the Fort-de-France public prosecutor attached to the city’s
specialised inter-regional jurisdiction (JIRS).[2]
The seven were held in custody and brought before the criminal court in
immediate appearance on 27 May 2022.[1]The hearing was adjourned to 13 June
2022 and all seven were remanded in pre-trial detention in the meantime.[1]LINFO.re, a Réunion outlet drawing on France-Antilles, reported that the seven
were in pre-trial detention after the 27 May appearance.[3]
The armed forces said the seizure cost traffickers more than one million euros
and that the cargo was destined for the islands of the Caribbean arc, and that
it was the forces’ third seizure of 2022, bringing their annual total to one
tonne of cannabis and 680 kg of cocaine.[4]
Photos and video
The yole intercepted west of Martinique on 24 May 2022, alone on the sea, published with the report on the seizure and the court appearance. Photo: État-major des Armées.Photo details
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Source: Martinique La 1èreThe nine bales recovered at sea after the occupants of the yole threw them overboard on 24 May 2022. Photo: État-major des Armées.Photo details
Sources differ on the weight: the prosecutor's account reported by RCI, France-Antilles and La 1ère gives 561 kg, while the navy publication puts it at 560 kg; the report uses 561 kg.
No exact interception coordinates were published beyond "west of Martinique on the high seas", so the map point marks Martinique rather than the interception site.
The RCI page gives no outcome of the 13 June 2022 hearing, and no later court result was found in the opened sources.
The seven are described only by nationality; no names, ages or defence statements were published.
The "more than one million euros" loss is the armed forces' estimate for the traffickers, not a separate cannabis street valuation.
The 2022 annual totals of one tonne of cannabis and 680 kg of cocaine cover other seizures and are excluded from this event's figures.
LINFO.re attributes much of its account to France-Antilles and reproduces the same prosecutor's statement, so it is not independent reporting.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Cols bleus – Marine nationale: As the frigate's Panther helicopter approached, the seven people aboard threw bales into the sea before stopping, and nine of the bales were recovered and tested positive for cannabis.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in France-Antilles Martinique: The investigation was entrusted to OFAST officers by the Fort-de-France public prosecutor and the city's specialised inter-regional jurisdiction (JIRS).
Not added to martinique-sainte-lucie-yole-20kg-2022, as its quotation was not found in France-Antilles Martinique: The same account says this third seizure of 2022 brought the Forces Armées aux Antilles' tally for the year to one tonne of cannabis and 680 kilograms of cocaine.
Customs officers seized 40 kg of cannabis products from a Spanish UPS truck at the Fontaine toll on the A36 on 9 November 2026. Two Spain-based delivery drivers, aged 36 and 46, were detained after admitting they acted as “mules” for a load collected in Madrid.
Police seized about 100 kilos of drugs, mainly cannabis with some cocaine, from a nourrice stash flat supplying deal points in Vénissieux's Joliot-Curie sector. The reports give only a combined weight, so no cannabis-only quantity can be recorded.
Six people were taken into custody after searches across Corrèze and Saône-et-Loire linked to the Kannathera CBD chain; police seized 444.1 kg of cannabis, 190.2 kg of it resin. The Brive prosecutor's office said four suspects were placed under judicial supervision pending trial and two others were summoned to court.
On 3 November 2026 a Paris court ended a mother's social-housing lease after several kilos of cannabis and cash were found in her son's bedroom, put at 6.5 kg. The court accepted she paid rent, had no neighbour complaints and knew nothing of her son's activity.
