Italian officials on Monday impounded four million euros of pure cocaine hidden aboard an Ecuadorian banana boat that docked at the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro.
Customs and tax police officials said they used x-ray equipment to locate the 19 kilogramme haul of cocaine in the container ship's engine room.
Drugs trafficking is a major source of revenue for the Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta, whose clans having been vying for control of the business at Gioia Tauro, a transshipment hub.
