Italy Seizes Largest Drug Shipment Across the Mediterranean

Italian police found more than 5.3 tons of cocaine during an operation in the Mediterranean. The estimated market value of the entire shipment is around 850 million euros ($946 million), reportedly making it the largest cocaine shipment ever seized on Italian territory. The Italian financial police announced that five individuals were arrested during a large-scale operation off the southwestern coast of Sicily. Investigators stated that this operation dealt a blow to international drug trafficking. Reconnaissance flights by the task force spotted a fishing boat approaching a commercial vessel that had already been under surveillance for several days. According to a police statement, the fishing boat had sailed from the coast of Calabria. Early Wednesday morning, investigators observed several packages being transferred to the deck of the commercial vessel and thrown into the water as the fishing boat approached. The crew of the smaller boat then retrieved those packages from the water.