They've discovered another cocaine island — this one two tons
of waterproof bricks found floating in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Sicily.
Sicily is the birthplace of the Mafia and is no stranger to upscale criminal activity and
bizarre underworld revelations, but this discovery raises eyebrows even there. More
than 70 floating parcels were spotted in the sea, held together by netting and afloat by
life vests as it bounced around in the waves, ready and waiting for someone to come and
collect it. But someone else got there first. Finders keepers, I suppose. The Mob Reporter
here with quick news of 430 million dollars worth of cocaine that was just bobbing about
in the sun and the surf. This is the third cocaine island in as many years. Let me tell you about it.
This startling flotsam was announced April 17, 2023, found off Sicily's east coast, in the Ionian Sea on
the Mediterranean. That puts it in the water near Sicily, home of the Cosa Nostra Mafia, and Calabria,
home of the 'Ndrangheta Mafia. Either one of those organizations is more than capable of moving this
kind of weight. It was purposely dropped into the water by a passing cargo ship that hauled
it across the Atlantic from South America and left it behind to be collected by others, who would be
using smaller vessels, such as fishing boats or yachts, and then smuggled ashore for distribution,
authorities say. It was spotted during coastal monitoring between Catania, at the base of Mount
Etna, the famous volcano, and Syracuse to the south, which is the birthplace of Archimedes, considered
the greatest mathematician of the ancient world. What a spot for a floating island of cocaine.
Eureka! I have my suspicions that the location likely came from an informant somewhere along the
supply chain. The timing and the size of the open sea make me wonder if police really just stumbled
across it. But it is possible. Everyone can have a stroke of bad luck. It's just that few mistakes or
bad luck are so dramatic and valuable. It's one of the largest single cocaine seizures in Italy.
Cops swarmed it by boat and airplane. As vessels secured the load, aircraft swept the water from
above looking for signs of any other wayward cargo. It was brought to the port of Catania,
where it was unloaded examined and tested. The parcels were wrapped in white, with a few of them
strapped to bright orange life vests to help them float, and likely helped the collectors spot them.
Inside each parcel were colorful blocks — the telltale sign of cocaine powder pressed into one-
kilo bricks — marked with colorful logos and wrapped in plastic to keep it dry. The bricks weighed
almost 2,000 kilos. Some of them have one of the oddest logos I've seen co-opted for a coke brick.
That's the logo for the Leos, a youth organization for the Lions Club International service groups.
But maybe they just like big cats, because other bricks have a tiger emoji on them. Several of
the bricks were marked with a variation of the Superman logo. That caught my eye because the last
cocaine island I told you about was found in the South Pacific Ocean, in February. Interestingly that
one featured the Batman logo. That one was bigger than the Italian job. There were three and a half
tons recovered by the New Zealand Navy then. It was likely headed to feed the insatiable demand in
Australia. Police estimated then there was enough coke to supply all of Australia for a year, and it
was more than is typically sold in New Zealand in more than 30 years. What a thing to lose. A third
coke float was about to be released off the coast of England in September 2021 — two tons of bricks in
waterproof duffel bags were hauled across the Atlantic aboard a private luxury super yacht.
And the narcos plan was to drop it overboard held afloat by 100 life vests they had
on board. They were caught red-handed before they could jettison their cargo.
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