Anti-drug trafficking plan at Martinique port: tripled controls and €3 million investment
A massive surveillance plan was presented on 25 September 2026 at the major maritime port of Martinique, featuring drones, robots and enhanced controls for €3 million.
Drones, robot dogs and annual investigations: Martinique port strengthens its fight against drug trafficking
On 25 September 2026, the territorial director of the national police, the port president and the Martinique prefect presented a plan for enhanced surveillance at the major maritime port, according to la1ere.franceinfo.fr. The technological investment amounts to 3 million euros.
The measure comes in a context of intensified drug trafficking. In May 2026, 750 kilos of cocaine were seized off the island. In 2025, the armed forces of the Antilles had intercepted 35.7 tonnes of drugs in the region, a record. According to the Senate, the quantities intercepted have been multiplied by five since 2014 in Martinique.
Administrative investigations extended to 700 agents
Until now, 200 employees — mainly dockers and gantry crane operators — were subject to an administrative investigation every five years. From now on, these controls will be annual and will concern 700 people: all personnel passing through the port, including hauliers.
The port and the companies operating there will also be trained on the risks of drug trafficking and corruption. The port president notes that agents "will be made aware of the risk of being approached, but also of anonymous reporting systems".
The risk of internal corruption had been raised as early as 2023 by Hugues-Lionel Galy, inter-regional director of customs for the Antilles-Guyana, before the Senate: "traffickers need local accomplices. Given the scale of the sums they offer, the risk of corruption is real."
Containers searched and real-time surveillance
Each year, approximately 180,000 containers pass through Martinique port. Last year, just over 1,000 were checked. This figure has already doubled in 2026.
The prefect wishes to go further thanks to the customs plan 2030, which is to be integrated into the 2027 finance law: "we will move from the simple scanner deployed in recent months to something much more massive covering many more containers." The system also provides for the deployment of drones and robot dogs, as well as a reinforcement of daily police presence on the site.
The prefect emphasises that police and customs officers now have real-time access to images from across the entire port, thanks to a new camera system active twenty-four hours a day.
Etienne Desplanques, port president, described the entire system as a "genuine paradigm shift in the security of the major maritime port".
Source: Google News MQ — Crime