French authorities are confirming that they are detaining four individuals who had been sailing aboard a cruise ship under the guise of being tourists, but who were in fact hired Brazilian drug smugglers carrying large quantities of cocaine. While it is not the first time the Brazilian drug cartels have attempted this method of smuggling, it appears to be the largest quantity of cocaine yet seized from a cruise ship.
As first reported by the French news outlet La Provence, the French authorities in the port of Marseille became suspicious of the actions of two travelers as they were preparing to go ashore during a port call on May 2. A known drug smuggling port, the French were doing bag checks of the people going ashore when they noticed a couple acting suspiciously.
The Costa Cruises’ ship the Costa Favolosa (114,400 gross tons) is a large cruise ship accommodating over 3,000 passengers or over 4,800 when full. The ship was on a cruise that had departed Savona, Italy, and after the port call in France was due to sail to Morocco. It was in the process of repositioning to Northern Europe for the summer.
The young man and woman were reportedly acting like “lovers” but the French noticed they also had a large suitcase which seemed odd for a ship making a short port call. When the couple spotted the bag check they reportedly turned around and went back into the ship. A short time later the woman reappeared carrying a small backpack. When the authorities approached her for a bag check she flung the backpack over the rail into the harbor.
Retrieving the backpack, the French police reported finding 8.4 kg of cocaine, which also gave them the authority to search the woman’s cabin. It was then that they discovered the extent of the smuggling effort later confirmed by the passengers who said they had been recruited by a Brazilian drug cartel that provided the cabins and covered their expenses.
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