Cocaine worth 946 million dollars seized off the coast of Sicily
Police seized 5.3 tons of cocaine off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily. Five suppliers of cocaine with an estimated value of 946 million dollars were arrested.
Italian authorities have seized a record amount of cocaine off the southern coast of Sicily, police said on Friday. The 5.3 tons of cocaine has an estimated value of $946 million (850 million euros).
Police were in pursuit of a ship departing from South America early on Wednesday. A surveillance plane spotted packages being dropped from its deck into the waters of the Strait of Sicily to be picked up by a waiting fishing boat.
The police stopped the ship and found a large quantity of drugs in hidden compartments. Five people were arrested: Two Tunisians, an Italian, an Albanian and a Frenchman.
In April, Italian police found nearly 2 tons of cocaine floating in the sea off eastern Sicily, which they believe had been left for collection by a cargo ship.
Source: Hindustan Times
