Italian police have found 150 kg of cocaine hidden inside a Marshall Islands-flag ship in the port of Ravenna.
The drugs were recovered by divers working nine metres below the waterline in bad weather.
A total of 139 blocks were discovered inside the vessel’s sea chest.
The packages were decorated with elaborate designs, including a bicycle and a man riding a winged horse.
Police said the joint investigation was carried out last week by state officers and financial investigators.
“The operation, which is part of the activity to combat international drug trafficking, was carried out in constant collaboration with the Central Directorate for Anti-drug Services and the Central Operational Service of the State Police,” a statement added.
Video released by the authorities showed the vessel was a bulker.
The unnamed ship had left Santos in Brazil in February and had arrived in Ravenna from a northern European port.
Police said the vessel was “subjected to a thorough inspection with the collaboration of divers from the Rimini Naval Air Operations Department, who scanned the submerged part of the hull”.
The drugs are estimated to be worth €5m ($5.3m) to wholesale dealers, with a street value of €25m.
Opened with knives
The video showed investigators finding large silver-coloured packages just inside the hull, before lifting them onto a police boat and opening them with knives.
The bulker was carrying a cargo of fertiliser.
Already this week, TradeWinds has reported on a “significant amount” of cocaine being found on a Thai-controlled bulker at the port of Ghent in Belgium.
A report by Nieuwsblad said Precious Shipping’s 33,800-dwt Benjamas Naree (built 2012) was searched by sniffer dogs at the weekend .
