Italian Official Provides Details on Discovery of 2.7 Tons of Cocaine

It was revealed yesterday that 2.7 tons of cocaine were seized in Italy. According to Reuters, the drugs were hidden in boxes of bananas sent from Ecuador. The value of the seized shipment is over 800 million euros on the black market. The cargo moved from the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and the final destination was Armenia, transiting through the port of Batumi in Georgia.

Factor.am contacted the Italian Financial Police to ascertain which company attempted to import the exotic fruits into Armenia, from which the drugs were discovered. Deputy Commander of the Italian Financial Police, Persando Danilon, stated in an interview that he could not disclose the name of the company due to ongoing investigative secrets. “I cannot provide you with the company name as the investigation is ongoing. We are also in contact with your national authorities. I can only say that it was definitely for Armenia, as the placement positions of the cocaine in the containers suggest that the only point where the criminal organization could take this container was when it reached its destination. We do not know if the Armenian company is directly involved in the crime. Experience shows that sometimes company leaders, employees, or mid-level workers can take cocaine without the owner's knowledge. That is why I say we need to conduct more investigation about this,” said the Italian official.

When asked if there are suspects or arrests, Danilon replied, “Yes, we certainly have suspects, but we need to conduct more investigation to obtain more information. We have suspicions about how it was organized, but this is investigative secrecy.” When asked if there are Armenians among those interviewed, the Italian official responded negatively, saying, “Not yet. To move forward, we are cooperating with Armenian law enforcement agencies.”

It is worth noting that today the National Security Service of Armenia also issued a statement stating that around one ton of cocaine (valued at approximately 250 million euros) was imported into the Republic of Armenia by a company operating in Armenia engaged in fruit imports from a firm located in Ecuador, crossing through the territories of Panama, Italy, and Georgia. This cocaine has been seized and is currently in the possession of the National Security Service of Armenia.

This indicates that the fruit-importing company managed to deliver around one ton of cocaine to Armenia, while 2.7 tons were seized by Italian authorities. Which Armenian company is involved and which transportation company handled the maritime shipment remains unclear; Armenian law enforcement agencies have yet to disclose the answers to these questions.