It is more than New Zealand would use in 30 years.
That’s how New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster described to reporters the 3.2 tons of cocaine that police found floating off the country’s northwestern coast on Wednesday.
“This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand’s agencies by some margin,” Coster said. “We believe it was destined for Australia, where it would have been enough to service the market for one year.”
The 81 bales of cocained bound by netting and covered in yellow floats has an estimated street value of $316 million.
Some of the bales had a Batman symbol on them, and the packages of cocaine inside are labelled with what appeared to be a four-leaf clover print, Agence France-Presse reports.
A naval boat intercepted the bundle, which was drifting hundreds of kilometres northwest of New Zealand, thanks in part to intelligence from the “Five Eyes” alliance.