An international anti-drug operation coordinated by Italy’s Anti-Mafia Prosecutor’s Office in Brescia has resulted in the seizure of more than 2.6 tons of cocaine and the arrest of four suspected traffickers, including an Albanian national.
The operation was carried out by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, through its Aeronaval Operational Command and the specialized S.C.I.C.O. unit, in cooperation with law enforcement authorities in Spain and Portugal.
Authorities intercepted an ultra-fast “go-fast” speedboat off the coast of Lisbon after Portuguese Maritime Police moved in to stop the vessel.
Four people were arrested on board: two Spanish nationals, one citizen of Gibraltar, and one Albanian national who resides in Mantova and is registered in Italy’s Brescia province.
According to Italian authorities, the seized shipment has an estimated wholesale value of approximately €78 million. Investigators estimate that, if the cocaine had reached its intended destination and been distributed across the illicit market, it could have generated around €500 million in criminal revenue.
The investigation also revealed that organized crime groups are increasingly relying on high-speed “go-fast” boats—typically between 10 and 16 meters in length and equipped with multiple high-powered outboard engines—to transport large quantities of narcotics across maritime routes.
Italian authorities said the vessel was tracked continuously by Guardia di Finanza surveillance aircraft equipped with advanced maritime monitoring technology, as part of broader efforts to secure the European Union’s external borders and disrupt international drug trafficking networks.
The operation highlights the growing level of cross-border cooperation among European law enforcement agencies in targeting major cocaine trafficking networks operating across the Mediterranean and Atlantic routes.
