A load of pure cocaine weighing around 138 kilograms was intercepted in December 2025 at the port of Civitavecchia during an inspection of an articulated vehicle that had just disembarked from a ship arriving from Barcelona. The seizure was the result of joint operations carried out by the Maritime Border Police, the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency.
The drugs were concealed inside six large industrial sacks filled with recycled plastic, stowed in the semi-trailer registered to a Slovenian company. During the initial checks, the driver’s behaviour prompted officers to carry out more in-depth inspections. A radiographic scan of the cargo revealed anomalies, later confirmed by the intervention of the Guardia di Finanza’s canine unit in Civitavecchia. The dog Jackpot enabled officers to locate 120 bricks of cocaine, which were subsequently seized.
According to investigators, the substance was of very high purity and, once cut and placed on the market, could have generated profits of up to around €15 million. The truck driver, a 42-year-old Bosnian citizen resident in Slovenia, was arrested on charges of drug trafficking aggravated by the large quantity involved and taken to Civitavecchia prison on the orders of the public prosecutor’s office.
The December operation represents the most significant intervention of 2025 at the Lazio port, but it is not an isolated case. Between 1 January and 24 December 2025, total seizures of narcotics documented at the port of Civitavecchia amounted to 219 kilograms. In addition to cocaine, which with 138 kilograms accounted for around 63% of the total, substantial quantities of marijuana were also intercepted.
The second major seizure dates back to 22 August 2025, when 81 kilograms of marijuana were stopped inside an articulated lorry once again arriving from Barcelona. In that case, the drugs were hidden among mixed goods, including wedding dresses, medicines and animal feed. The inspection of the vehicle, supported by the anti-drugs canine unit Lyana, led to the arrest of a Bulgarian driver. The estimated value of that load exceeded €450,000.
