Record 2.7 tons of cocaine worth over $870M seized in Italy

ROME

The Italian police on Tuesday seized a record 2.7 tons of extremely pure cocaine worth over $871 million in the southern port of Gioia Tauro.

In a statement, the Guardia di Finanza, an Italian law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance, said it found the narcotics hidden in two containers carrying 78 tons of bananas from the Ecuadorian port of Guayaquil. The final destination of the drugs was Armenia, where it was bound to arrive via the Georgian port of Batumi.

The drug haul was made possible after extensive intelligence and constant monitoring of the commercial routes from South America to the Black Sea, transiting through the Calabrian port (Gioia Tauro), the statement added.

Italian authorities estimate that the proceeds from the sale of the cocaine seized would have totaled around €800 million ($871 million).

This large seizure follows several police operations in the last few days which recovered another 600 kilograms (1,322 pounds) of cocaine from ships coming from Ecuador. The drugs were destined for Croatia, Greece and Georgia.

Authorities said they have seized around 37 tons of cocaine in Gioia Tauro since the beginning of 2021.