€150m cocaine ship owned by shipping group Laskaridis arrested in Venice

Italian authorities have found cocaine worth 150 million euros hidden on the Atlas bulk carrier in Venice, owned by Laskaridis Shipping.

This is reported by TradeWinds, showing footage from a helicopter as customs vessels surround the Atlas vessel, owned by the Greek company.

Divers were then sent to the Liberian-flagged vessel to inspect it. A large amount of drugs wrapped in black plastic was found. The Italian financial police say the cocaine was hidden in the ventilation ducts. A total of 570 packages weighing 850 kilograms were found.

Yesterday, Thursday, the ship was subjected to additional inspection. None of the sailors on board were arrested, according to the same information. According to reports, the ship remained at anchor in Venice on Friday morning. It left Santos in Brazil on 23 March and arrived in Venice on 17 April.

Merchant ships are usually one of the vehicles for drug smuggling, but cartels can use them without the knowledge of shipowners and sailors. Last month, Europol said more than 200 tons of cocaine had been moved through two of the European Union’s busiest ports by criminal gangs who obtained unique container codes from whistle-blowers. This tactic has reportedly been used with increasing frequency since 2018. Drug cartels pay hundreds of thousands of euros to corrupt entities for handing over unique container data, appropriated after payment for the cargo. This practice is known asPIN code fraud“.

Cocaine worth hundreds of millions floating in the sea off the coast of Italy

Earlier this week, police seized hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine after it was discovered at sea off the coast of Italy. 70 waterproof bags weighing two tons were found tied with fishing nets, and the contents were kept dry with plastic wrap. The packages were fished from the waters near Sicily.

The waterproof parcels are equipped with a glowing tracking device, Guardia di Finanza said. Police believe that 1,600 packages in 70 bundles were left behind by a cargo ship to be picked up by another ship. Police planes circled the area as a precaution to look for other cocaine packages that might have come loose from the bundle.

Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini praised the efforts of the police in a Tweet. He said: “Congratulations to the Financial Guard on this extraordinary operation: (I am) against all drugs and for life no matter what.”

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