New Zealand authorities said on Wednesday they had recovered 3.2 tonnes of cocaine worth more than USD 300 million, believed to be bound for Australia and found floating at sea.

Local Police said it had collected the drugs from the Pacific Ocean in a joint operation with the New Zealand Customs Service and the New Zealand Defence Force.

No arrests have yet been made.

“This is one of the single biggest seizures of illegal drugs by authorities in this country. While this disrupts the syndicate’s operations, we remain vigilant given the lengths we know these groups will go to circumvent coming to law enforcement’s attention”, - Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in a statement.

The seizure has a value of USD 320 million, according to New Zealand Customs Service Acting Controller Bill Perry.