France seizes 1.4 tonnes of cocaine

PARIS - French customs officials have seized 1.39 tonnes of cocaine worth $99 million, the biggest haul of its kind in the country, near Martinique, an island in the Caribbean under France’s rule, authorities said.

The drug was found in a ship, around 74 km from the island, Xinhua reported citing an official statement.

The seized consignment has a market value of around 83 million euros ($99 million), posting an all-time-high record, the statement issued by the customs sector under the budget ministry said.

Around 5.11 tonnes of cocaine were seized by the French government in 2009.