New Zealand discovers 3.5 tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean

stacks of cocaine bundles being operation hydros sign
(Image credit: AP Photo/NZ Police)

New Zealand police have seized over three tons of cocaine wrapped into 81 bales floating in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, "in the single largest drug bust in the nation's history," The Washington Post reports.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster estimates that the cache traveling from South America to Australia is worth 500 million New Zealand dollars ($315 million) and weighs 3.2 metric tons (3.5 tons). "We believe there was enough cocaine to service the Australian market for about one year," Coster said, per NBC News, "and this would be more than New Zealand would use in 30 years."

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.