New Zealand’s navy has intercepted a floating haul of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean in what the country says is its largest drug bust ever.
The stash – weighing total 3.2 tonnes (3,200kg) and worth NZ$500m (£263m; $316m) – was found drifting hundreds of kilometres northwest of New Zealand.
Police believed it was destined for Australia, where it would have been enough to serve that market for a year.
The packages were strung up with buoys and some labelled with a Batman symbol.
Pictures released by New Zealand police and defence officials also showed cocaine packets labelled with a black four-leaf clover symbol.
These were the “trademark logos” for the drug producers, believed to be in South America, said New Zealand officials.
“This is the largest find of illicit drugs by New Zealand agencies, by some margin,” said New Zealand’s police commissioner Andrew Coster on Wednesday.
“It is more than New Zealand would use in 30 years,” he added.
