On Thursday, November 12, the French Navy intercepts a semi-submersible in the middle of the Atlantic. The unusual craft is suspected of carrying cocaine.
The vessel is in the military's sights as it heads offshore. The operation involves a mode of transport that remains rare in French seizures.
More than the quantity recovered, it is the craft that makes the interception exceptional. It is a semi-submersible, barely visible at the surface of the water.
This technique is increasingly used by South American cartels to move their goods to Europe. These organizations were the first to resort to this type of vessel.
The military recover 146 kilograms of drugs. The smugglers' vessel sinks within minutes and takes most of the cargo with it.
The craft is deliberately scuttled by the traffickers. Bales of drugs are nevertheless recovered after the sinking.
Barely visible at the surface, semi-submersibles measure about ten meters in length and roughly three meters in depth. Their shallow draft makes them difficult to detect.
They can carry several tons of cargo. Thursday's seizure therefore represents only a fraction of what this type of craft is capable of transporting.
Earlier this year, one of these semi-submersibles was intercepted off the Azores. It had crossed the Atlantic with nine tons of cocaine.