“Over 435 kilograms” of high-purity black market cocaine worth “over 70 million euros” were seized at the port of Joaoia Tauro, in the southern Italy, the Italian border police (GDF) said today.

The drug, which was found in this Calabrian port, was hidden in a cargo of about 1,000 bags of peanuts coming from Latin America and destined for Eastern Europe, according to a statement from the GDF.

Police also described as “decisive and crucial” the involvement of units with trained dogs in this operation, as the dogs detected “anomalies” in this cargo.

This seizure dealt a “hard blow” to the revenues of the organized crime rings behind this drug smuggling, noted with satisfaction the border police, who explained that during this year “more than 5 tons” of drugs “with a total value of about 650 million euros” were seized in Joaoia Tauro.