A Floating Island of Cocaine Found Off Sicily's Coast

They’ve discovered another cocaine island - this one was two tons of bricks found floating in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Sicily, the birthplace of the Mafia, which is no stranger to upscale crime, but this discovery raises eyebrows even there. Let me tell you about it.
The Mob reporter here with quick news of $430 million dollars’ worth of coke that was just bobbing about in the sun and the surf - and this isn’t the first time. This the third coke island in as many years.
More than 70 floating parcels were spotted in the sea, held together by netting and aloft by life vests as it bounced about in the waves - ready and waiting for someone to come and collect it. But someone else got there first. Finders’ keepers, I suppose. The 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 are more than capable of moving this kind of weight.
It was purposely dropped into the water by a passing cargo ship, investigators say, left behind to be collected by others, using smaller vessels, such as fishing boat or yacht, and then smuggled ashore for distribution. Authorities say it was spotted during coastal monitoring between Catania, Sicily’s second largest city 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.
It is one of the largest single seizures in Italy. The last cocaine island we saw was off found in the South Pacific Ocean in February. Interestingly, that one featured the Batman logo. That was bigger than the Italian job. There were three and a half tons recovered by the New Zealand navy. Police estimated it was enough to supply all of Australia for a year. And is more than is typically sold in New Zealand over 30 years. What a thing to lose.
A third coke float was about to be released off the coast of England in September 2021. It was codenamed Operation Whale. Two tons of bricks in waterproof duffle bags were hauled across the Atlantic aboard a private luxury super yacht and the narcos’ plan was to hold it afloat with 100 life vests they had onboard. They were caught red-handed before they could jettison their cargo.
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CREDITS:
Music is “Radiation Storm” by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Container ship video by Alexander Bobrov from Pexels; View of Etna from by Kamil and Siracusa Lighthouse by Matteo Arrigo, both from Pixabay.
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[@gordtron]

you always bring us great stories. thanks for all you do Mob Reporter.

[@SpartanHeaven]

10/10 for this content

[@Madoobe87]

Yeah and not that he got EXCELLENT narrator voice

[@aaronrientsma9552]

There he is! Back at it. Hoping for more details in the pearson heist so you can cover that in a video. Have a great weekend!

[@lockdownseason1061]

2nd this!

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

That's on my desert island list of islands to be stranded on.

[@tuckersdadnb]

There's no one better than The Mob Reporter !

[@TheMobReporter]

Bless you, SW.

[@PBLTD]

Very true ! Only best @themobreporter

[@petermilazzo7345]

He on his job

[@justme2386]

He knows the job 😉

[@michaelbrianlowe1]

Hoping you had a good vacation! Soooo stoked for this vid! Been waiting for the upload 🤙

[@Seanc74]

Wow, big loss for someone.

[@2wheelman]

you got a big $20 million gold heist story up in toronto to follow up for us . i am sure you heard about it already.

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

Inside job

[@mogreen19]

I prefer my "coke float" with Coca Cola and vanilla ice cream. But this new "land" is interesting: first the Cook Islands, now the Coke Islands.

[@uberdump]

You find one of those packages on the beach one day. No one around as it's an early early morning walk. Do you take it? Sell it? Report it? I'd be tempted to take it home and just try a tiny bit every now and then. Friday night only.

[@Arnisho]

crazy how he always manages to find such good footage of each bust

[@bwdavis4573]

He's a pro and has great contacts. Some cool LEO amigos too, I would imagine.

[@TheMobReporter]

Yes, thank you.

[@YTTRUTH91]

He’s a cop

[@martin3203]

Thanks, your half cup of lukewarm coffee here ☕️

[@TheMobReporter]

I can heat it up! Thank you, M.

[@sirkatarsirkatar7332]

another great video, thank you Mob Reporter

[@TheMobReporter]

Thanks, SK, and you're welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@MrValhem265]

thanks for all you do Mob Reporter.

[@RealBoiJare]

Great video as always!

[@TheMobReporter]

Thank you, RBJ.

[@u2fkeys665]

The mob reporter 🔥

[@kyleg9735]

Mob Reporter is the goat! Love when he tells us about it!!! Keep up the good work my guy. 👍

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

Back in the 90s we used to get bricks of hash stamped with an AK-47 on it. Suppliers and their branding

[@bengone3349]

This channel has CONTENT!

[@ChrispyChris3]

More great content man, good stuff and thanks!

[@bwdavis4573]

¿How was your 4/20 mi jefe? All hazy here, but code 4, lol. Thanks for your ongoing great work. 💚🌲

[@stevekissel605]

Great video 👍 👍

[@TheMobReporter]

Thx, SK.

[@tashman84]

Thanks, been missing your uploads 😂

[@TheMobReporter]

Thanks, Tash. New episode coming out in a few hours.

[@mrj5695]

Salute the dedication

[@EmperorNerox]

Usually they have GPS devices on them so they can be located immediately. Surprised these didn't.

[@ramtapa2303]

Nice knowledge bro

[@phraydedjez]

yep, but nothing says ''find me'' like bright white and orange floating in the ocean... smart lol

[@RealBoiJare]

@@ramtapa2303 with the value of the product you would think gps would be obvious, honestly

[@bigm6787]

Either somebody fucked up bad or they did it on purpose

[@jorgenoname6062]

Its possible the GPS detached from the cargo itself, the process to seal everything is generally done in Latin America so no one in the transportation division is gunna mess with it

[@neilfoster9517]

Yup they will do anything to keep the informant out of the light

[@leemason5953]

They just found some floating off the UK coast in the last couple of days,they said it weighed about a ton.

[@mooncat.787]

Some ? A fuckin TON ! Where ?

[@jlc88cowan88]

Have missed you're uploads

[@benderbendingrofriguez3300]

Maybe a ruse? You know,they sacrifice those kilos just to make sure the real load gets to its destination.

[@tq6892]

An insane amount to sacrifice

[@davidd.8519]

So why didn't they just sit back and wait for whoever was supposed pick it up to come along

[@gordythecreator]

What a waste. Whoever unfortunately lost the birds, I'm sorry for your loss. Have faith that perseverance will win, and you should never give up.

[@user-ltrsnqi]

How many weak souls could that powder destroy, get real!! Nothing good about that trash

[@stoptrudeau42]

​@@user-ltrsnqi meanwhile fentynl and big pharma destroying the world. Experimental shots

[@Silverken]

@@user-ltrsnqithey do it to themselves tho. If i buy drugs from a dealer and get overdosed or addicted that’s on me and only me. The dealer just sold me what i wanted. End of story. But hey, Pointing the finger towards someone else is always easier than taking responsibility for your own actions. That’s being REAL.

[@moranmichael9226]

Welcome back hope to see you again soon

[@TheMobReporter]

Thanks, MM. It's nice to have been missed!

[@claudecentanni9529]

"Would you honestly turn in all that cocaine or keep it"?

[@Ja2808R]

One of those bails would be a life changer for anyone who stumbles upon it. Good or bad..

[@Muddy.Teabagger]

do you wish to keep all that coke and try selling it? someone will come looking, it be better to keep one bag full and leave the rest.

[@jackthelad15]

The authorities have their contacts you can bet what they reported and what was actually found ain't the same, plus those in charge of it's destruction will deffo have shimmed off enough for themselves

[@philthefriendlyfrog]

Ummmn cocaine?what cocaine?

[@mikehunt4797]

If you found all of it and took none ud be a fool.

[@randomdude5938]

I’m confused why it’s not ok for me to steal from my local liquor distributor but governments can go into international waters and steal these business’s cocaine.

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

Bc Governments are the biggest Traffickers

[@DEATH2thaSTUpid]

It's illegal...old news mate

[@randomdude5938]

@@DEATH2thaSTUpid ahhh the old “because daddy said so”. I hope you aren’t a parent. If you are you’re bad at it.

[@Tucker8087]

Facts! 💯

[@DNSMLT]

You think it's ok for teenagers to do this stuff?

[@sc0tte1-416]

Man...why I can't be lucky enough to find something like that. I'd be fine with just a couple bricks of that lol

[@humphreydickson9391]

You are doing a great job

[@TheMobReporter]

Thanks, HD.

[@acebetoohigh8250]

Love the content

[@dimmacommunication]

We are always in the spotlight and not in a good way 😂

[@corydemeray7594]

i always knew batman and superman were in business together

[@JJ-sx6de]

I wish I was going fishing that day 😂

[@HRM.H]

The columbian oceanic powderpatch

[@cranegantry868]

If it got sold on the streets of Europe, that would be $400 million of Europeans wealth just snotted away to some criminal.

[@phuckyoutube5927]

And what if it wasn't drugs it'd be some other bull. You donate how much to alcohol a year? McDonald's? Oil industry? Gold mining? Whats his difference because he has a licence was born at the right time? Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs if you think its about safety you slow af my boy.

[@bergennorway]

I am hoping for some news about the cocaine that was seized in Norway, inside banana boxes from Colombia. First more than 800kg, then another one with between 800-900kg. Police say some was found in Germany too, so it was worth a lot of money.

[@xSCHEF]

This happens on weekly basis in Netherlands bruh

[@hafizaz-9858]

mafia CandyMan W Y

[@coles999]

brings a tear to my eye

[@user-ltrsnqi]

Get help

[@igordrakulovic6857]

Would be funny if on life jackets is the name of the vessel from which this was thrown into sea, probably a solid cargo ship. When i was an officer 10 years ago , as per company regulations I used to stamp vessel name and number onto each life jacket on board. Anyway i doubt it's case here ..

[@TheMobReporter]

Ha! That would be amazing.

[@Mr.Grumbdy]

Heads are going to roll when the bosses find out .

[@Silverken]

Nah this was a gift from the bosses. You’re naive to think corruption doesn’t exist 😂 If this was real they would have handled it very differently. Putting a tracker on it and following where it goes to make a real bust. But nah they just took it and achieved nothing 😂 It just sounds strange they’d just have it floating around for god knows how long with nobody in sight to collect it.

[@noahberndtson4170]

Always takes my mind off of everything else. Momentary bliss! Thank you

[@knickebien1966]

If a "Cocaine Bear" is possible, could there be a "Cocaine Whale"?

[@TheMobReporter]

Apparently there is talk of Cocaine Shark. "Great White" I presume.

[@rcsnapon2132]

Good video 😊

[@deanchehancock7652]

Yesterday in the English Channel they found some more.

[@ChampagneAndRipple]

I used to be friends with a dealer who gave me an 8ball of coke once. I don't do the stuff, so it took me forever to get rid of it. I wouldn't know what to do at all if I found even 1% of this load.

[@makevelicustoms]

Lord why couldn’t you let me find a few of those white Lobsters 🦞❄️❄️ 😩

[@NN-lx4mb]

You have the best content

[@TheMobReporter]

Thank you NN.

[@Happy357mag]

Holy shit, I want to be a italian fisherman!

[@fckprc8149]

And then. How would a fisherman sell even 10kg let alone a few hundred without the owners know about it and kill your silly DA. People are so dim these days.

[@Happy357mag]

@@fckprc8149 I agree 100% that people are dim these days. People lost their sense of humor and overthink some of the most ridiculous comments on the internet.

[@rengdang]

Hi Mob Reporter thanks for all the great videos. Any word on Rafael Caro Quintero? Did he ge textradited? Cheers

[@davehiltz8791]

Great job

[@blackbuck4real]

This been goin on for a LONG TIME

[@SHERMA.]

it cant be long before they have like little mini-subs that only carry a few kg that have a location preloaded 1000's of them doing trip after trip round the planet these big subs and floating coke islands just ping on radar they need to make them small like the size of a large tuna etc

[@jamaljames2578]

Always watching from Georgetown Guyana south America 🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾

[@benderbendingrofriguez3300]

Can you make a video about the robbery that happened at the Toronto airport?

[@TheMobReporter]

When I can get more info and some visuals.

[@REVOLVER_NOIR]

This looks like a classic Kansas City Shuffle. They look left, you go right.. 😁

[@luke125]

I’d like to visit that island.

[@Ja2808R]

The island with only one inhabiter.

[@dennisdickinson8337]

So why don't you wait and catch whoever's going to pick it up

[@brianpj5860]

Could you imagine a humble small fishing vessel just coming across that… To call the cops? Or not to call the Cops?? That is the question!!! Reporting it to the police would logically be the safest option. But then thats a work day wasted, dealing with the coast guards and other fed’s… 🤔 Or you could pick them all up and store them somewhere within your vessel, then quickly make it back to land while successfully dodging any unwanted inspections. But after cautiously making it back to land, undetected, The list of problem for you and your crew has expanded. You need to quickly and quietly offload to some temporary transport/storage vehicle, all while remaining undetected. Ontop of that you will need a secret storage location in which the least amount of the crew can even know about. Once this initial-trial has been completed, and things have settled, you can THEN Finally decide what you all want to do with the bounty!!! Which will of course come with its own serious risks and problems… Depending on how competent, patient, and diligent your crew is. Finding out the “correct” owner of this lost shipment y’all found(as im sure every smooth mouth finessing trafficker would claim ownership) and trading the shipment back to them for some kind of labour bonus + %interest in storage/transport fees. Logically seems like the “safest” bet to me, and just an overall good business practice in possibly gaining favor for other capital/buisness ventures!!! 🤣

[@cl7510]

I’d have to grab at least a bundle or 10. You know, to make sure it was what I thought it was. And to…. Test it, see how it smells, find out it’s purity. For science reasons.

[@chrisbgoodv2178]

You never pick up square groupers. If the police are watching it's twenty years. Just saying you found it randomly won't cut it.

[@leroythompson8942]

​@cl7510 aint that the truth 😂😂😂

[@Nathan-jv2pr]

I need to start snorkelling around there

[@willytheriot8439]

Thank you.

[@vernowen2083]

The different logos are the indicator of the supplier each brick is intended for.

[@Agapy8888]

Sikelia. The birthplace of Mafia.

[@VonBluesman]

Stroke of luck ? You see that floating in the ocean, you better head the opposite direction as fast as you can.

[@steini6771]

Pls check the Norwegian custom Oslo that in 2 weeks caught 800 kg x 2 of cocaine concealed in bananas. Funny, the company that imports bananas is called BAMA.

[@mikehunt4797]

Bet the different packing logos is to determine what group gets what coke.

[@nfrench2100]

As soon as the instrumentals kicked in, I immediately went to the description lol I KNEW this was Dane @White Bat Audio 👏

[@toxicavenger7073]

There are a whole family of people about to end up missing

[@freddymngadi6135]

Imagine all the excuses hereafter... 1, rescue boat DID NOT have enough fuel, ...2, crew DID NOT pick up their text messages before sunrise, 3, load arrived on the WRONG DAY of the week coz we were all busy doing our day jobs... 4, messages had NO CODEWORD, so we thought them fake...Ohh, the mind boggles... pass me another beer, plee-eze!!!😍😍😍

[@TheMobReporter]

Sounds legit.

[@surfstarcc1]

3:48 enough Coke to supply the entire country of Australia for more than a year. Let that sink in.....

[@TheMobReporter]

Or float in…

[@Nikola_Novakovic]

⚪️🟠Why would any drug lord throw bright white parcels and Fluro Orange life jackets into a blue ocean. I’m dumbfounded🤷‍♂️

[@hatupatu4264]

👏🏽

[@lucyloose2841]

Agreed it is quiet possible that it was a tip off although it was wrapped in white with orange life jackets lol Need to be packed in camo and held under the surface of the water some how with a tracker on it... Real shame to see so much product being seized especially since Anom ect. Another great upload Mr Mob thankyou for your hard work.

[@trj1442]

Wow. Definitely someone's head would be rolling by now, if it hasn't already been blown off. Seems like a very uncertain way of smuggling gear just leaving it floating in the ocean, unless it's got a GPS tracker or something. Another excellent episode TMR.

[@NorthWestPvPlolrektnoob]

they for sure have some kind of tracker on it

[@TheMobReporter]

At the very least they would be sent GPS coordinates of the drop.

[@trj1442]

@@TheMobReporter you seem to know a lot about the logistics of illicit imports TMR. 🤔

[@chaseteter]

GPS tracking is a given with an operation of this scale. Someone might have gotten spooked. There are a lot of possibilities. Not thinking of GPS tracking isn’t one.

[@tb-yz1ti]

Better there heads than the young people it’s going to kill 🙂

[@theabstract4936]

I think they stumbled upon it and someone has to lose their life when that much powder is ceased from authorities. Sometimes I wonder if they push so much cocaine that they forget about that load or use it as a distraction.

[@Bookitty4792]

Thank s a great point, maybe that was just a distraction 🤷‍♀️

[@badeugenecops4741]

Yeaaah...no. The scale of the load alone should tell you that this was a major fk up. You could have the same distraction with half the load. That's a HUGE loss. More than 1 guy is dead over this.

[@Chris_at_Home]

NAF Sigonella is an airbase just onshore from this area. They have P-8 patrol aircraft flying from there all the time. Seeing the orange life vests with the high powered camera would probably cause a for closer inspection.

[@barrywhite7696]

it will make a few officials rich😅

[@daviddesorcy]

thanks much

[@kyber404]

Guess I should buy a boat.. Lol.

[@BangBangBang.]

probably got spooked when going to pick it up and just abandoned it

[@igorrodrigues6173]

the last superman logo , caught was in galiza a few weeks ago , together with 2 cocineros mexicans , and 6 from colombia , and guardia civil are saying that are sinaloa and clan del golfo.

[@durbanbudz]

Cocaine Island vs. Fantasy Island?

[@danice2138]

Nuts one just got picked up off new Zealand months ago lmao they need to get here schedules straight lol

[@makersmark1974]

You know..🤔 Sometimes when i eat fish, i feel like.. ..well, you know..

[@TheMobReporter]

Runny nose?

[@BOARDMAN16456]

No doubt there will be heavy consequences for the loss of this AMOUNT.. WOW

[@williamrae9954]

Someone is now unalived?

[@shawn1988420]

next time someone ask me what island id like to visit i now have my answer.

[@HowiaNow]

MR any plans to do a video on Gerry Hutch?

[@TheMobReporter]

I covered his arrest. I'll consider an update, but I will need new footage.

[@TheRealFeechLaManna]

I saw video from the Coke lab in Portugal or Spain they recently discovered, and in that, I saw they were pressing the Superman logo on the kilos!

[@chrisbgoodv2178]

I always wonder, if the load has already been paid for, do the suppliers care if the customer loses it?

[@sharmark1067]

If its on consignment and it gets seized you dont have to pay for the loss. But it has to make the news to confirm. You cant just say the load was seized.

[@fulaan1]

When are we getting a report on the gold heist in Toronto?

[@cryptokek6820]

Could you explain why a single shipment would have so many bricks with different logos on them?

[@HAL-1984]

Different producers get given different stamps im guessing, the big boys then buy from multiple sources and ship.. just a way of keeping track

[@joechang8696]

Branding is important

[@tao8365]

You must be hard at work on the $20 million Toronto airport heist story. Let me tell you about it.... Jimmmmmyyyyy!!!!!!!

[@TheMobReporter]

It will be a while before I have enough visuals and info for a video, but what a hit that was.

[@Weszaaa]

Why not wrap the bales in blue 🤔, better chance of going undetected.

[@TheMobReporter]

And harder for the collectors to find it too.

[@nik-dj8vi]

I Told Him Not to Pull that Drain Plug in the bottom of the Hull, but We learn from Our Mistakes. I No Longer Employ Idiots and He's No Longer with Us

[@Minextube]

Happend in sweden to its insane

[@fredericrike5974]

In a good year, police often estimate they may stop 10 -15% of the traffic. Two tonnes, three tonnes-- that 85-90% is getting to be a huge number!