The Italian police have seized a record amount of cocaine. In the port of Gioia Tauro in the southern Italian region of Calabria, a batch of 1200 kilos of cocaine with a market value of more than 250 million euros has been seized. The drugs were hidden in banana boxes and came from South America, police said Thursday.

"It is one of the largest batches of drugs ever on our national territory," the statement said. The 1176 kilos of pure cocaine was discovered on Monday in 144 green packages in a cooled banana container. The drugs had Germany as their final destination.

The container port in Gioia Tauro is considered a notorious transit point for drugs for the Mafia. According to the police, more than 2.5 tonnes of cocaine have been seized there in the last twelve months.

The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta is considered the most powerful criminal organization in the global drug trade.