France announced over the weekend that officers in French Polynesia made a historic drug bust, seizing approximately US $381 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine found on a sailing vessel.
The sailboat was en route to Australia from Mexico, according to investigative reporters with Aristegui Noticias. It was boarded by French authorities after it made a stopover in Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands, one of five archipelagos that make up French Polynesia.
An initial inspection found 900 kilograms of cocaine and 180 kg of methamphetamine, but a more exhaustive search by the authorities led to the discovery of 1.8 tonnes of cocaine, 232 kg of meth, 11 firearms and 24 magazines.
Officials are calling the bust the largest narcotics haul ever recorded in the territory.
The two men on board — a Dutchman and a German — were arrested.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau praised the work of the French Customs Service, the local gendarmes and officials with the French Office for Biodiversity.
“The State will never give in to the drug trafficking that plagues our regions,” Retailleau said in a social media post. “Throughout the country, drug traffickers will be relentlessly pursued.”
#ContreLeNarcoTrafic ❌ Saisie record en #Polynésie française !
➡️ 1,6 T de cocaïne, 232 kg de méthamphétamine, 11 armes de point et 24 chargeurs
Une excellente coopération #douanes, antenne #Ofast de Papeete et commandement de la gendarmerie de Polynésie🤝 pic.twitter.com/dvhG5XKsHD— Gendarmerie nationale (@Gendarmerie) August 4, 2025
According to the news magazine Proceso, French Polynesia is a popular route for methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking, which “primarily originates from clandestine laboratories located in Mexico.”
Traffickers take advantage of the vast expanse of ocean to ship their drugs from South American and Mexican sources to the Australian market. This makes effective patrolling by authorities extremely challenging, according to the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre.
French Polynesia’s vast maritime zone comprises 5.5 million square kilometers.
In late June, the Assembly of French Polynesia urged the French government to declare the fight against meth a national priority. The past year has seen a 28-percent rise in drug-related court cases with the increasing involvement of minors, according to Radio France Internationale.
A social media post from France’s Ministry of Overseas Territories said protection of the population in its territories is a priority in the face of the growing pressure of drug trafficking.
“In French Polynesia, our security forces are mobilized to combat these criminal networks that threaten youth and social cohesion,” it said.
With reports from Proceso and Aristegui Noticias
