File: The side of a Polizia di Stato vehicle marked ''Cinofili'' is seen in Bari, Italy. Photo: Matteo Della Torre / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP
ROME - Italian police on Tuesday said they had seized pure cocaine with an estimated street value of 250 million euros (R4.7 billion) at a port in northwest Italy.
Some 770 kilograms of cocaine were concealed in a refrigerated container from Ecuador among dozens of pallets of bananas found at the port of Vado Ligure, police said in a statement.
Following a previous drug seizure at the same port, authorities have increased monitoring of Vado Ligure as a potential transit point for international trafficking.
Investigators said the port’s role as a growing European trade hub also makes it an attractive target for criminal networks involved in illicit activities.
Police earlier this month seized 340 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of 120 million euros in the same port.
- AFP