More than 400 kilograms of cocaine have been seized from the 2013-built container ship MSC Adelaide in Genoa, Italy.
The street value of the substance seized is estimated to be around US$34.3 million. According to local media, the boxship arrived in Port Genoa on 6 January with the narcotics stashed in fourteen suitcases within a container and was deemed inactive by authorities when port personnel from the Compagnia Unica Lavoratori Merci Varie (CULMV) union arrived to collect the shipment.
On 7 February, a sailor was found dead with his throat cut open on the deck of the same ship. Investigators have not ruled out suicide as a cause of death and do not suspect that the aforementioned drug trafficking played a role in the tragedy. However, it was suspicious because the weapon was not discovered next to his body.
The drugs shipment is thought to have been originated from Brazil, however, the particular location of the factory has not been revealed. MSC Adelaide was previously docked at Santos which is known as the most important cocaine export centre for drugs manufactured in Bolivia, as per DEA.
According to Insight Crime, Santos narcotic trades are coordinated by the Primeiro Comando DA Capital (PCC) gang, which has regional connections to transport Bolivian cocaine to Brazil via Paraguay often exported as part of regular trade goods. This is frequently the extent of drug trafficking’s infiltration into port facilities, and it is the reason why MSC has decided to cease pre-stacking and container-stuffing services in port to reduce and eradicate drug trafficking.
Ankur Kundu
Correspondent
