Police on Tuesday seized 52.7 kilos of cocaine hidden inside coal sacks in a container ship at the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro with a market value of at least 10 million euros.
The narcotics had been divided into 49 'loaves', were shipped from Paraguay and were destined for Israel's port of Haifa, police said.
Police said they used scanning devices loaned by the port authorities and cross-checks on customs documents seized from the ship to locate the cocaine.
Tuesday's operation was carried out on the orders of local anti-mafia prosecutors, police said.