Global Times

The Italian authorities seized on Tuesday seven tons of explosives at one of the biggest container ports of Europe, which according to the intelligence were apparently meant for Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza-based Hamas.

The explosives, all T4 as reported by state television Rai, were found in a container at the hub of Gioia Tauro in the southern region of Calabria, a strategic port for all major import- exports operations concerning Italy and the south of Europe.

According to the local police, the explosives were transported by an Italy-Swiss shipping company and were heading from Iran to Syria. The authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain why the bombs were traveling through Italy and the characteristics of the network.

Initially thought to be part of a Mafia-related illegal explosives trade (Gioia Tauro is considered as the hotbed of the local criminal organization known as Ndrangheta), the authorities cleared all doubts by pointing out that the port was just a temporary stop for the mines, directed elsewhere.

The Italian intelligence is now cooperating with other countries to reconstruct the ship's journey and the final destination of the explosives. It is thanks to the information shared that the Hezbollah and Hamas track emerged.

The goal of the investigators is now to determine whether there are other similar containers traveling across the Mediterranean or ready to depart, and if yes, where they could be eventually located.

http://world.globaltimes.cn/europe/2010-09/576530.html