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French police seize two tons of cocaine worth around US$134 million in Le Havre

Truck driver, dock worker were arrested and face up to 30 years in jail. Port of Le Havre is major gateway for cocaine smuggling in France

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French police have seized two tons of cocaine at the port of Le Havre. Photo: dpa

Police have seized more than two tons of cocaine worth around €130 million (US$134 million) in the northern French port of Le Havre.

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Smugglers used a container clone to bring in the drugs, police said.

After a container is processed through a routine scan by customs, its registration information is copied and placed on to a replica, thereby allowing it to evade inspections, according to Europol.

This procedure usually makes it possible to remove the container with copied labelling and copied papers undetected from the port area.

In this case, however, investigators found the narcotics. The truck driver and the dock worker involved in the smuggling, two men aged 41 and 22, were arrested. They face up to 30 years in prison.

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The port of Le Havre has been one of the most important gateways for cocaine smuggling in France for years.

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