Italian authorities have made a major drug bust off the southern coast of Sicily, seizing a record-breaking 5.3-tonne cocaine haul. The consignment, estimated to be worth 850 million euros ($946 million), was being transferred between ships when it was intercepted by police. Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the operation, according to a statement from the Guardia di Finanza.

The police had been tracking a ship that had sailed from South America and took action in the early hours of Wednesday when a surveillance aircraft witnessed packages being thrown from the ship's deck into the waters of the Strait of Sicily. These packages were then collected by a waiting fishing trawler. The trawler was subsequently stopped, leading to the discovery of large quantities of drugs hidden in a secret compartment. The arrested individuals include two Tunisians, an Italian, an Albanian, and a French national. Renato Schifani, the Sicilian regional president, praised the operation as a significant blow against drug smuggling. In a statement, he condemned the scourge of drugs, which he stated were fueled by unscrupulous individuals who cause death and destruction to families and society. This recent seizure comes after another drug discovery in April, in which almost 2 tonnes of cocaine were found floating at sea off eastern Sicily, believed to have been left for collection by a cargo ship.