More than 30kg of cocaine seized at Papeete harbour on 18 November 2025. Photo: Douanes de Polynésie française
Police and border authorities have claimed another major haul of cocaine in the port of the capital Papeete.
The operation took place mid-November 2025 for a total of over 30kg of cocaine (with an estimated street value €5 million) onboard a cargo vessel that is believed to be bound for Australia or New Zealand, French High Commissioner Alexandre Rochatte said in a statement on Wednesday.
The drugs were found in 27 individually-wrapped plastic bricks in containers aboard the vessel.
Rochatte said the find also appeared to follow the "rip-off" trans-Pacific technique used by narco-traffickers, using containers to conceal shipments from producing countries (typically in South America) to send narcotics to South-west Pacific countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
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"This technique consists in introducing narcotics in a container without the knowledge of the transporter. It usually requires accomplices in the departure and arrival platforms", he said.
"These drugs were therefore not destined to French Polynesia. They will be destroyed".
Much larger cocaine shipments were previously seized by French authorities in March 2025 (142kg) and July 2025 (89.7kg) "in almost identical circumstances".
Methamphetamine crystals importers network bust
Meanwhile, still in French Polynesia, an operation launched in the capital Papeete by French gendarmes this week resulted in the arrest of nine people suspected of being part of an importation "structured and organised" network for methamphetamine crystals (locally known as "ice").
The narcotics, for an estimated value of €320,000, were imported from the United States via "mules" or ""postal parcels".
The value also included vehicles and monies deposited into bank accounts.
The nine suspects have been remanded in custody, pending their trial.
Floating cocaine package resurface again
In New Caledonia, mid-November 2025, French authorities have also located and retrieved about 5kg of cocaine that washed ashore on the island of Maré (Loyalty group) in the form of five blocks of the substance.
The unusual discovery was signalled to law enforcement authorities by locals.
Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas said he believed the floating packages were not destined for New Caledonia, rather for Australia.
In a similar scenario, in November 2024, a drifting pack of about 40kg of cocaine was also found floating on the shores of the Isle of Pines (South off Nouméa).
This time, authorities had to intervene and later dismantled an opportunistic local network to re-sell the substance locally.
In June 2025, a law enforcement operation resulted in the record seizure of about 2.5 tonnes of cocaine (for an estimated value of over €500,000) aboard a Panama-flagged cargo ship, the SM Dante, about 400 nautical miles of New Caledonia.
The vessel was also bound for Australia.
