Italian police seized approximately 270kg of heroin in what is being hailed as the largest capture of drugs by Italian authorities in 20 years.

Police officers check bags found in Genoa harbour in this video grab provided by the Italian Police, November 8, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

A storage container arriving from Iran, which was loaded with bags labelled as bentonite, was spotted by customs officers in Genoa port on October 17.

The shipment was tracked as it was moved via lorry through Switzerland, France and Belgium to its final destination in the Netherlands.

The truck arrived at a warehouse in Roosendal on November 2, where Italian and Dutch police seized the drugs hidden inside the bags and made two arrests.