French customs officials intercepted a significant drug shipment containing 1.45 tons of cocaine at the Saint-Arnoult toll plaza in Yvelines on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The seizure involved 1,264 bricks of the illicit substance hidden within a heavy goods vehicle traveling north on the A10 motorway toward Paris from Portugal.

Two Dutch truck drivers have been placed under formal investigation and remanded in custody following the operation. The primary suspect, a 53-year-old Dutch national who was driving the vehicle from southern Portugal, was presented to an investigating magistrate on Monday. A second truck driver, aged 35, has also been charged in connection with transporting approximately 1.5 tons of cocaine in his vehicle.

The case has been taken over by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco), which has opened a judicial investigation into organized drug importation and trafficking. According to authorities, the total value of the seized cocaine from both interceptions amounts to approximately €72 million.

This seizure occurs against the backdrop of rising cocaine interceptions in France, with 2024 seeing record levels of 53.5 tons confiscated—a 130% increase compared to 2023, according to data from France's anti-drug office (Ofast). The Saint-Arnoult toll plaza operation represents one of the largest single seizures in recent French law enforcement history.