More than £350 million worth of cocaine has been found floating in the Mediterranean Sea.
The 75 waterproof packets were held together by rope and buoys.
A tracker device was enabled so the haul could be easily found and recovered by the drug gang.
However, the two-tonnes floating drug platform was spotted by a navy surveillance plane looking out for migrant boats.
The drugs were drifting in the waters between Messina and Catania off the coast of Sicily.
It is one of Italy’s biggest drug seizures.
Police believe the drugs were dropped overboard by a cargo ship.
A spokesperson said:
“The packages held 1,600 bricks of drugs.
“They were probably left at sea by one of the cargo ships frequenting that stretch of coastline, to be subsequently recovered and transported to the mainland.”
An Italian police source told MailOnline:
“This is one of the biggest seizures of cocaine on our national territory and has a value of more than 400 million Euros.
“The drugs were packed into waterproof packets, and all tied together with rope and held securely together.
“It would have been difficult for the consignment to have split up.
“There was a tracking device attached which was luminous as well so that it could easily be spotted in the dark.
“Experts are examining this device to see what it can reveal about the origins, but we are working on the theory it was thrown overboard from a cargo vessel to be picked up later.”
