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8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 AUGUST 2026 FEATURE international waters, some- times near Hurd Bank, and re- trieved by fast boats. In other cases, packages are thrown overboard closer to shore from fast-moving boats, then collected along isolated stretches of coastline with little surveillance. On 12 June, 2026, the Catania District Police busted a cocaine trafficking ring between Sicily and Malta. Operation Abyss (Operazione Abisso) led to the interception of mafia-linked criminals trying to recover two tonnes of cocaine that had been dropped into the sea off the coast of Catania. Airports remain another key en- try point. Drug mules arrive carry- ing cocaine concealed in false-bot- tom luggage, sewn into clothing or hidden inside their body. Investigators have identified a European trend in which home- less individuals are recruited, cleaned up, given new clothes and sent on flights to Malta. The po- lice officer said flight records show some couriers making the journey once, while others repeat it six or seven times. A woman making the trip from Barcelona to Malta in 2024 was caught smuggling cocaine with a street value of €130,000. She had 66 capsules hidden inside her stomach and genital area. Another man caught in 2023 was found to be smuggling 1kg of cocaine divided into 100 capsules, which he ingested. But freight transport presents one of the most lucrative oppor- tunities. The so-called "container rip-off" technique involves hiding cocaine inside legitimate cargo without the knowledge of ship- ping companies or crews. Once the container arrives at its destination, a paid insider breaks the seals, removes the drugs and reseals it, leaving little trace of in- terference. The replacement seal is sometimes placed inside the container along with the cocaine at the point of departure. This method relies heavily on insider access at the port and coordina- tion at both ends of the supply chain. Last year a 37-year-old man from Xgħajra was arrested in con- nection with the discovery of 35kg of cocaine at the Malta Freeport. The man was caught leaving the Freeport with the drugs hidden inside a vehicle. An initial inspection of the sus- pect's vehicle led to the discovery of 7kg of a substance believed to be cocaine. Subsequent search- es within the Freeport yielded an additional 28kg, bringing the total seizure to 35kg, with an estimated street value of around €2 million. Another method of cocaine dis- patch is the postal system using parcels that are lined with materi- als designed to block X-ray detec- tion. The method does not always work and some parcels go uncol- lected, a sign that shipments are often treated as expendable losses. Branded cocaine Cocaine seizures often bear log- os, stamps or markings. The po- lice officer told MaltaToday some logos are so well-known they function like illicit trademarks. The markings identify the car- tel that produced the drug and its quality. But the markings also help producers, suppliers and dealers, refer to cocaine by seemingly in- nocent names to try and thwart law enforcement officers eaves- dropping on conversations. A cocaine bust in Gozo in No- vember 2025 saw the seizure of 76kg of cocaine with an estimated value of €9 million from a Xagħra apartment. Photos published by the police showed cocaine bricks with the Ferrari logos and Shrek character Puss in Boots. Samples seized in Malta are sent to the United States for cocaine signature profiling. By analysing chemical composition and pu- rity, experts can often trace co- caine back to its region of origin in South America. The money flows At street level, dealers earn be- tween €1,000 and €3,000 per run, a fraction of the drug's final value. Higher up the chain, transac- tions are increasingly conducted online using cryptocurrencies, though cash remains common. The police officer explained that the same cars used to smug- gle cocaine into Malta using the Catamaran from Sicily, are used to smuggle cash back out of the country. In 2024, two Sicilians were remanded in custody after police found 4kgs of cocaine and €1,000 in cash inside hidden com- partments. The economics are simple and ruthless. Losses are built into the business model. Large shipments can be sacrificed to ensure smaller ones get through. But sometimes, things go bad. This summer, a speed boat with three Maltese men on board end- ed without fuel just off the coast of Casuzze, west of Marina di Ragusa, in south east Sicily. The mishap caused the men to panic and throw around €700,000 in plastic-wrapped euro notes into the sea when the Italian coast- guard approached to offer help. The men were interrogated by the Ragusa police but later re- leased on police bail. The money and the speed boat were confiscated but investiga- tors are still trying to establish any links between the money and the cocaine trade along Sicily's south-eastern shores, where Albanian gangsters are in cahoots with local Sicilian ma- fia groups. The incident cast a spotlight on what appears to be a different transaction method for cocaine trade between Malta and Sicily. Cocaine-onomics The expansion of Malta's nightlife economy has gone hand in hand with rising co- caine use. "Demand and supply feed each other; it is not a case of one driving the other," the police officer said. Drug consumption patterns have also shifted. Unlike in the past, users increasingly pur- Cocaine trail: From containers on < FROM PREVIOUS PAGE A cash raid (Photo: Malta Police Force) Cocaine bust at Malta Freeport (Photo: Dwana)