After a two year investigation into cocaine and heroin trafficking by U.S. and Italian authorities, 24 mafia members in Italy and New York were arrested it was announced by the FBI on Tuesday.

17 members of the powerful ‘Ndranheta crime syndicate, of Calabria, as well as members of the Gambino family were arrested in Italy, and another seven were arrested in New York on drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms offenses, after a two-year investigation that spanned continents.

The investigation uncovered an elaborate drug trafficking enterprise that packed liquid drugs in cans of coconut milk, pinapples and frozen fish. The trafficking relied on members of Mexican drug cartels operating in Guyana, South America. With the help of corrupt port officials, the drugs were shipped in vessels owned by a Guyanese company. One such shipment was intercepted in Malaysia and found to contain $7 million in cocaine in the fruit tins. That shipment was bound for the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro.

A key role in the investigation was played by an undercover agent, identified only as “Jimmy.” “Jimmy” infiltrated the Brookly-based mob, and with his information, as well as information gathered through wiretaps, the drug trafficking scheme was uncovered.

While the existence of a connection between the Calabrian mafia and U.S. mafia families has been well known, Tuesday’s operation shows its great strength and reach, investigators said.

“As alleged, ‘Ndrangheta’s clan members conspired with members of the Gambino organized crime family in New York in an attempt to infiltrate our area with their illegal activities. Under the auspices of legitimate shipping businesses, the two criminal groups worked together to establish a plan of moving cocaine and heroin between the United States and Italy. Little did they know, there was an ongoing collaboration between the FBI and the Italian National Police to investigate and identify their scheme.” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos.

The seven defendants arrested in the United States are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold, at the United States Courthouse at 225 Cadman Plaza East in Brooklyn, New York. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr.