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PARIS – French police discovered nearly six tons of cannabis resin, known as hashish, in a villa in the southern city of Marseille and arrested three men, the interior ministry said yesterday.

The drug bust came after months of investigation and is one of the biggest seizures of cannabis in France in recent years.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement that police had tracked the three men believed to be involved in a vast drug trafficking network to Marseille and the nearby town of Vitrolles on Sunday.

They found 5.6 tons of hashish in a villa and another 150kg of the drug in a car.

Cazeneuve, who visited Marseille late yesterday, congratulated officers on their “major success”.

In 2013, French customs officers seized 7.5 tons of cannabis in one day, with 5.5 tons found in a truck carrying courgettes and another two tonnes in a truck carrying oranges.

The biggest ever cannabis seizure in France was in 1999 when 23.5 tons was seized in one haul. — AFP.