Italian Authorities Seize Two Tons of Cocaine in an “Important Operation”

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and the Ministry of the Interior reported a major cocaine seizure in what they termed “an important anti-drug operation.” The seizure happened in March but was just announced after reports in the Italian media last week.

The containership Mersin Express (37,000 dwt) was the latest target of a South American-based cartel with the Italian authorities reporting a focused effort involving multiple agencies to interrupt the smuggling. The official announcement did not report the date but the media indicates the seizure took place in early March in the port of Livorno.

The vessel was carrying a shipment of cocoa power which was concealing two tons of cocaine in approximately 1,800 blocks. The street value was estimated at over €500 million (more than $560 million).

The voyage originated in Guayaquil, Ecuador where they believe the cocaine was loaded onto the ship for retrieval once it reached Europe. However, the vessel also made intermediary stops in Colon, Panama, and again in Cartagena, Colombia. The vessel then made stops in Vigo, Malaga, and Valencia in Spain and Genoa, Italy where the drugs went undetected. It was finally intercepted in Livorno.

Authorities point out that the shipment while common was not in refrigerated cargo where they typically find large quantities of cocaine and other drugs concealed coming from South America. Italian media, InfoLibes, highlights that 1,400 tons of bananas and pineapples were offloaded from the same vessel on March 12 in Vigo.

The vessel is registered in Malta but owned and operated by a Turkish-based company. Built in 2017 it has a capacity of 2,586 TEU.

The same shipping company, which maintains regular service between South America and Europe, has been targeted by other smuggling operations. The company’s vessel Izmit Express (37,000 dwt with a capacity of 2,586 TEU) reported locating “suspicious packages” in a hard-to-reach area of its cargo holds when it reached Spain in November 2024. Spanish authorities retrieved 23 kilos of cocaine and continued to inspect 100 containers carrying bananas. With the proper tools, the authorities cut into the containers and found 432 packages of cocaine with a total weight is over 500 kilos.

Refrigerated containers have regularly been targeted by smugglers. Ports ranging from Spain and Italy to Rotterdam and Belgium have all reported large drug seizures found concealed with fruit shipments from South America.