Law enforcement officers from Italy, Portugal, and Spain hope to have more success in their fight against international drug smugglers, after a collaborative effort resulted in the interception of a high-speed boat in the Atlantic Ocean, and the seizure of 2.6 metric tons of cocaine.
The operation on Thursday also led to the arrest of four suspects – an Albanian man living in Italy, two Spanish citizens, and a Gibraltar resident – officials said on Monday, as they spoke for the first time about the incident.
Italian officials said the drugs could have been sold on the streets of Europe for as much as 500 million euros ($568 million).
"The wholesale value of the cocaine is estimated at approximately 78 million euros," an official statement from Italy's Guardia di Finanza, a military law enforcement agency responsible for securing borders, said. "Once delivered to their destination and diluted for retail distribution, the narcotics could have generated total revenues of around 500 million euros."
Officers added that organized crime gangs are increasingly using extremely powerful "go fast" boats.
