Savona: new anti-drug operation by the Guardia di Finanza and Customs: 800 kilos of cocaine seized

Another major cocaine seizure has taken place at the port of Vado Ligure, thanks to collaboration between the Guardia di Finanza and the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM). A refrigerated container from Ecuador was intercepted, containing almost 800 kilograms of high-purity cocaine (650 blocks), concealed amongst pallets of bananas. This is one of the largest seizures in recent years at the port, coming just a few weeks after a similar operation that led to the seizure of over three quintals of high-purity cocaine. Had the drugs been placed on the market, they would have netted the criminal organisations around 250 million euros.

Officers from the Savona Provincial Command, in collaboration with colleagues from the Genoa Economic and Financial Police Unit, and together with officials from the Anti-Fraud Section of the Liguria 3 Administrative Office in Savona, have identified, at the port of Vado Ligure, a consignment of 650 blocks containing, including packaging, a total quantity of over 770 kilograms of narcotics which, following an analysis carried out at the time of the inspection, was found to be high-purity cocaine.

The huge consignment of drugs was cleverly concealed amongst dozens of pallets of bananas, inside a refrigerated container arriving from one of Ecuador’s main ports. The operation is, once again, the result of extensive analysis and monitoring carried out by officers from the Savona Group and staff from the Customs Agency, conducted along the trade routes linking South America with the port of Vado Ligure, an increasingly important hub for trade flows to Europe and, as such, an attractive port of call for illicit trafficking.

This latest cocaine seizure represents one of the most significant anti-drug operations carried out in recent years at Vada Airport; had the seized drugs been placed on the market, they would have generated substantial profits for criminal organisations, with an estimated retail value of around 250 million euros. This operation forms part of an ongoing and targeted effort to combat international drug trafficking, aimed, amongst other things, at protecting the most vulnerable sections of the population.