Corpse, cocaine found on shipwrecked boat in Tonga
Nov 16, 2012, 5:25 AM
SYDNEY (AP) – Australian police say a corpse and 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of cocaine were found on a yacht that ran aground in the small Pacific island nation of Tonga.
Australian Federal Police said Friday that they received a tip from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in August that a boat carrying the drugs had left Ecuador and was headed to Australia. Officials from the U.S., Australia and the Pacific islands worked together to track down the boat across the vast South Pacific.
They eventually found the yacht shipwrecked on a remote island in Tonga. Police say the drugs stuffed in the hull were worth around 116 million Australian dollars ($120 million).
A man’s decomposed body was also found on board. Tonga’s coroner is investigating the cause of death.
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