Officials based in the French département of Martinique contacted Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple, for permission to search the vessel Maria Del Mar, which had been identified during anti-drugs smuggling patrols – with boat La Combattante, normally based in Fort-de-France in Martinique – around 200 miles south of Barbados.
Having consulted with colleague in Customs and Immigration, Mr Temple granted permission for a search on 26 February.
On boarding the vessel the same day, 26 February, the French authorities discovered 1,100kg of cocaine.
In Jersey, this would have had a street value of between £55m and £77m, according to the Law Officers’ Department said.
The four people on board the boat – three Spaniards and one Colombian – were arrested and are in custody in Martinique.
GALLERY…
Photographs courtesy of Forces Armées Antilles
