More than two tons of cocaine they washed up last weekend and yesterday wednesday on French beaches in the English Channel, as it became known today from a source close to the investigations. The value of the drugs in the market is estimated to reach 150 million euros.

On Sunday morning, several bags containing approximately 850 kilograms of cocaine were found on the beach of Reville in northwestern France. Yesterday, another six bags washed up in Vic-sur-Mer. This time they contained 1.5 tons of cocaine, the source said, confirming a report by local newspaper Ouest-France. The 2.3 tons of cocaine is a “historical” record.

The Herburg prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation of the case.

So far it remains unknown where they came from the hermetically sealed bags. They may have been thrown overboard by traffickers to avoid an inspection, or they may have accidentally fallen off a boat. Another source, also close to the investigation, said that sometimes the bags of drugs are not kept inside the ship but the smugglers tie them to the hull and they can, especially if there is rough seas, come loose and leave.

It is not the first time bags of cocaine have washed up on French beaches. At the end of 2019, 1.6 tons were found on beaches from Saint-Jean-de-Luz to Camaret, while last May, packages weighing a total of 21 kilograms were found on a beach in Berque, in northern France.

In 2022, 27.7 tons of cocaine were found and seized in France, an amount increased by 5% compared to the previous year.