The BBC is reporting that police have arrested 33 suspects and seized 66lb of cocaine in raids across Italy in connection with a drug ring which had been operating from a convent in Piacenza [Emilia-Romagna].

Under the noses of the nuns, said to have been totally ignorant of what was going on, the convent’s South American caretaker organised religious trips in which South American “pilgrims” visiting Italian shrines used their prayer books to hide the drugs.

The cocaine was later taken to Bergamo to be refined and cut and from there, it was distributed to other cities in Northern Italy.

ANSA reports that ‘Ndrangheta [Calabrian Mafia] suspects are among those detained. A further 80 people are under investigation for involvement in the operation and police say that the drug runners also had a warehouse in Ghana which was set up using UN money intended for the country’s fishing industry.

What do you think the penalty should be for drug smuggling?