1.3 tonnes of cannabis seized at sea off Martinique; 5 held
French navy sailors and customs officers seized about 1.3 tonnes of cannabis from three go-fast boats off Martinique between 17 June and 15 July 2018. Five alleged traffickers were arrested, three of them aboard the last boat and two later by authorities in Antigua.
🇫🇷 Waters off Martinique and Antigua, Caribbean Sea · France
French navy sailors and customs officers in Martinique seized1.3 tonnes of
cannabis at sea between 17 June and 15 July 2018.[1]
In the night of 17 to 18 June 2018, the frigate Germinal chased a go-fast boat
suspected of carrying drugs, with support from a C26 military aircraft based in
Barbados and a Panther helicopter.[1]The Germinal’s crew recovered 25 bales
of marijuana that the traffickers threw into the sea, weighing 497.5 kg in
total.[1]On 25 June, customs officers chased a go-fast boat off the commune
of Le Carbet using an Alouette III helicopter and the coastguard vessel DF44.[1]
Customs officers estimated that at least 500 kg of cannabis had been thrown into
the sea in that chase but recovered only 272 kg.[1]Two of the three people
aboard that go-fast were arrested a few days later by the authorities of the
island of Antigua.[1]
In the night of 14 to 15 July 2018, the Germinal intercepted a go-fast boat
south-west of Martinique.[1]Aboard that boat, sailors found three suspected
traffickers and thirteen bales of marijuana weighing 332 kg.[1]Five alleged
traffickers were arrested in Martinique and at Antigua over the month.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
5
Cannabis
1.3015 t
Agency type
Customs, Coast guard, Military
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (1.3015 t)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Vehicle
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
RCIrci.fmFRPlus d'une tonne de cannabis saisie en un mois
Open questions the AI reported
The sources give 1.3 tonnes as the month's total, while the individual recovered weights add up to 1,101.5 kg; the difference may reflect unlisted seizures or rounding, so the published 1.3 tonnes is recorded as kg_seized.
Customs estimated at least 500 kg was thrown into the sea off Le Carbet but recovered 272 kg, so that seizure's true load is unknown.
Only the number of people arrested is published; no names, ages, nationalities, charges or court outcomes were reported.
The article does not say in which jurisdictions the two Antigua arrests and the three arrests at sea led, or whether any suspect was charged.
The article names no exact coordinates for the interceptions; the place is recorded as the waters off Martinique and Antigua at region level.
The article gives no separate date for the last seizure beyond the night of 14 to 15 July 2018, which is used as the incident date.
The page's only picture is a generic illustration that the markup does not tie to these interceptions, so it is listed as a media link with no claim that it shows the operation.
No independent second report of these interceptions could be opened for comparison.
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.
