Italian authorities have confirmed the recent seizure of more than 2.6 tonnes of cocaine from a small boat in the Atlantic Ocean off Portugal.
The Guardia di Finanza (GdF), Italy's main law enforcement agency tasked with investigating and preventing financial crimes and drug smuggling, has provided video footage of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) similar to those used by smugglers to retrieve illicit cargo offloaded at sea by ships arriving from South America.
GdF personnel intercepted the RIB and arrested its four occupants. The arrested individuals included a Gibraltar resident, an Albanian male residing in Italy, and two Spanish nationals.
The successful interdiction was conducted in cooperation with Portuguese and Spanish authorities, while the investigation will be led by prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Brescia.
The GdF said the seized drugs have an estimated wholesale value of approximately €78 million (US$89 million) while revenues of around €500 million (US$570 million) could potentially be generated following retail distribution.
The seizure off Portugal is one in a series of recent successful drug interdictions conducted by law enforcement agencies in Europe.
Earlier this month, the GdF and the UK National Crime Agency both reported the separate seizures of cocaine hidden among refrigerated shipments of bananas originating from South America.
