Nine people were arrested on two continents on an Air France flight from Caracas, Venezuela to Paris, France, according to the Guardian. They were arrested for smuggling 1.3 tons of cocaine.
Three national guards were arrested in Venezuela for their alleged involvement in the smuggling activity, according to the Venezuela public prosecutor's office.
The cocaine is valued at as much as $250 million. In addition to the national guards, three British citizens and three Italians were also detained in Paris.
The prosecutor in Venezuela will be charging a first sergeant, a second sergeant and a first lieutenant for "allegedly committing crimes established by Venezuelan law," the prosecutor's office said, not offering any additional details about the charges they planned to file.
The cocaine was stashed in suitcases registered under fake names that didn't match any passengers on the flight, including the smugglers, French police told Reuters.
"This marks the biggest seizure of cocaine ever made in mainland France as part of a judicial investigation," Manuel Valls, the French interior minister, told reporters on Saturday. He estimated the drugs to have a value of $62.5 million, different from the much higher street value estimated at $250 million.
The drugs were found earlier this month, but French authorities only released the details of the raid over the weekend. According to authorities in Venezuela, the drugs were seized on September 20.
"Pending the results of these investigations, immediate measures have been taken to enhance our checks of baggage and goods on departure from certain sensitive destinations," Air France said in a statement. They are still trying to determine how the drugs were smuggled onboard.
Venezuela, Bolivia and Burma haven't made substantial efforts to meet obligations under global counter-narcotics agreements during the last 12 months, according to an annual report this month from the White House.
According to the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, anti-narcotics cooperation has improved since 2005, when Chavez kicked out U.S. drug enforcement agents.
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