The French Navy has successfully seized approximately 9.6 tonnes of cocaine, valued at an estimated $610 million, during a high-stakes maritime operation in the Gulf of Guinea.
On Monday, December 22, 2025, two naval vessels participating in Operation Corymbe intercepted an unflagged fishing boat acting on intelligence provided by international anti-drug agencies and the British National Crime Agency. This latest seizure is one of the largest in the region’s history, second only to a 10.7-tonne bust recorded in March 2024.
French authorities at the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture attributed the success of the mission to “seamless cooperation” between national and international law enforcement bodies. The Gulf of Guinea has increasingly become a critical transit hub for global narcotics trafficking, particularly for South American cocaine destined for European markets.
Since the start of 2025, French naval operations in the area have intercepted a total of 54 tonnes of illegal drugs, highlighting the massive scale of the illicit trade flowing through West African waters.
France has maintained a continuous naval presence in the region since 1990 through the Corymbe mission, which was originally established to combat maritime piracy. While piracy rates in the Gulf of Guinea have fluctuated, the mission’s focus has expanded to address the growing threat of organized transnational crime. This significant blow to trafficking networks comes amid heightened international efforts to secure West African shipping lanes and disrupt the financial pipelines of global drug cartels.