Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) reports that law enforcement officials seized three kilos of cocaine at the Zvartnots International Airport on February 23.

The seizure was reportedly the results of efforts by the SRC’s Department of Anti-Smuggling and Double Customs Control.

The cocaine was in the possession of an Italian citizen. The drugs had reached Italy via transit from the Dominican Republic.

Department Head Samvel Sanamyan said that the quantity of the seizure was unprecedented in the entire working history of the SRC.

Law enforcement said the drugs were found underneath a false bottom in a suitcase being carried out by the Italian citizen as he passed through the nothing to declare corridor.

The powdery substance, found in plastic bags, was then taken for testing and certified as cocaine.

According to the SRC, the Italian, Valeriano di Simone, told officials that this was his first trip to Armenia and that he was on his way to a hotel room in Yerevan booked by a Spanish company.

The Italian told law enforcement that the cocaine was worth around US $1.5 million.

Photo: Samvel Sanamyan