More than 1 Tonne of Cocaine Is Washing Up on the Atlantic Coast of France

More than one tonne of cocaine in plastic packages of as yet unknown origin have been collected in recent weeks from the Atlantic coast of France, the French press reported.

Product in this form is very dangerous and can cause overdose death, Rennes prosecutor Philippe Astruc warned. The cocaine comes in packs of shoebox sizes, hermetically packed in cellophane, and has a purity of 83 percent.

Packages began to wash up on the French Atlantic coasts from mid-October. On Wednesday, a 17-year-old man was arrested after taking a 5-pound package of cocaine from a beach in Lacanau, southwestern France.

"Any discovery must be reported immediately to the police or gendarmes [paramilitary police] without touching [the drugs]," the prosecutors' office in Rennes, Brittany's capital, said, BBC reported.

Police officers are investigating whether a drug trafficker boat has been hit by a storm or has been in difficulty and have dumped its cargo.