French authorities seize 'exceptional' large haul of meth
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French authorities have seized a large haul of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of nearly 6 million euros, prosecutors said on Friday.
The drugs seized in southeastern France weighed 216 kilogrammes (476 pounds), the Marseille public prosecutor's office said in a statement, calling the seizure "exceptional".
By comparison, the total amount of methamphetamine seized nationwide in 2022 stood at 273 kilogrammes, according to data from the interior ministry for the most recent year available.
According to a police source, the average retail price of the highly addictive drug stood at 27 euros (nearly $29) per gram in 2023.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that methamphetamine, the world's most widely used synthetic stimulant drug, is one of the greatest threats to global health.
Usually ingested as a white powder or a pill, the drug is known under various street names including "yaba" and "ice".
In June 2019, nearly 400 kilos of methamphetamines were seized by authorities from a truck travelling in eastern France.
Less than a year later, in February 2020, customs officials intercepted a truck carrying 175 kilos of the drug in the southwestern department of Pyrenees-Atlantiques, close to the Spanish border.