France seizes nearly one tonne of drugs

French law enforcement officers have seized a large shipment of drugs weighing 930 kilograms in southern France.

They said the operation was carried out in the area of the commune of Montbolo, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, on the night of September 5, near the border with Spain, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

During the operation, gendarmes pursued a group of three vehicles. One of the vehicles collided with a law enforcement car. A 20-year-old man driving one of the vehicles, which had travelled from Spanish territory, was arrested.

He has been charged with offences related to drug trafficking.

According to AFP, cocaine is the second most widely used illicit drug in France after cannabis, with consumption rising over the past five years.

The French Office for Combating Drugs statistics show 84.3 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the country in 2025, with a significant portion — 59.5 tonnes — arriving by sea.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov