Reported by
Vanuatu authorities seized 450 kilograms of cocaine from a yacht in the country’s biggest drug bust in more than a decade, officials said Tuesday.
Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat told reporters that three men—two Turkish citizens and one Chinese national—are being held in Port Vila after police intercepted the sailing yacht Mi Amor on August 27 near the Banks Islands, close to the Solomon Islands border. Their names have not been released because they have not yet been charged.
The vessel was escorted to the northern town of Luganville the following day, where police discovered tightly wrapped bales of what appeared to be cocaine.
The yacht and its crew were later taken to the capital, for detention and further investigation. Napuat said the Australian Federal Police are assisting Vanuatu officers in tracking the boat, its cargo and its crew.
The minister noted it was the country’s largest seizure since 2013, when 750 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from a yacht abandoned in Port Vila harbor. Each bale in the latest bust carried distinctive logos or names.
