Customs officers intercepted nearly 3,9 tons of cocaine at the port of Dunkirk in northern France during an operation conducted on Monday, September 7. The shipment, estimated to be worth around €225 million, was divided into 167 bales hidden among plastic waste. The discovery was made by officers of the port's External Surveillance Brigade and revealed on Thursday by Vanessa Perrée, head of the National Prosecutor's Office for the Fight Against Organized Crime (PNACO).
The inspected container originated in Ghana and was scheduled to transit through the Belgian port of Antwerp. According to the National Anti-Corruption Program (PNACO), all of the cocaine discovered has since been destroyed. The specialized prosecutor's office immediately took charge of the case and opened a preliminary investigation to identify those involved in transporting the shipment and to determine which criminal organization might be responsible.
Secondary ports in the crosshairs of drug traffickers
The investigation has been entrusted to the Anti-Narcotics Office. The potential charges include the importation, acquisition, possession, transport, offering, or transfer of narcotics by an organized group, as well as participation in a criminal conspiracy. For the most serious charges in this case, those involved face up to 30 years' imprisonment.
This seizure comes as authorities observe the increasing use of secondary ports by drug trafficking networks, which are seeking to bypass major terminals that are subject to heightened surveillance. The scale of the seizures illustrates the pressure exerted by these flows on French territory: in 2025, customs intercepted 108,81 tons of narcotics, across all categories, with a total estimated value of nearly €2,2 billion.
