Italian authorities have intercepted a massive cocaine shipment concealed inside a refrigerated container loaded with fresh Ecuadorian bananas at the Port of Vado Ligure in northwestern Italy.
Officials discovered nearly 1,700 pounds of cocaine, packed into 650 brick-shaped packages and carefully hidden among dozens of pallets of bananas. The container originated from Ecuador, one of South America’s largest banana exporters.
The seizure followed a targeted operation by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and the Customs and Monopolies Agency, acting on intelligence that identified the refrigerated shipment as suspicious. Investigators focused on one of the busiest South America-to-Europe trade routes, enabling them to intercept the container before it entered the European market.
After opening the container, officers uncovered the concealed packages and conducted on-site tests, which confirmed the substance was high-purity cocaine.
Authorities estimated the street value of the confiscated drugs at 250 million euros (about $290 million), making it one of the largest cocaine seizures recorded at the Port of Vado Ligure.
The operation marks the second major drug seizure at the port in recent months, underscoring growing concerns over the use of legitimate agricultural exports to smuggle narcotics into Europe.
Investigators believe international criminal networks are increasingly exploiting global fruit and agricultural supply chains to conceal illicit drugs and evade detection. The latest seizure highlights the importance of intelligence-led operations and rigorous cargo inspections in disrupting transnational drug trafficking networks before the narcotics reach European markets.
