Italy’s Financial Police and Customs Service carried out a large-scale special operation at the port of Vado Ligure, seizing 770 kg of cocaine. The market value of the shipment is estimated at around €250 million. RMF 24 reported on one of the largest cocaine consignments. According to the information, the highly purified drugs were skillfully hidden among banana pallets inside a refrigerated container that arrived from Ecuador.

The smugglers were counting on the fruit to serve as camouflage, but the vigilance of law enforcement officers foiled their plans. This seizure became one of the largest anti-drug operations at the port in recent years and a serious blow to European trafficking.

Just three weeks earlier, authorities at the same port of Vado Ligure intercepted another 340 kg of cocaine. In response to the increasing number of such cases, the authorities have promised to significantly tighten port controls.