The doomed Costa Concordia was carrying a huge shipment of Mafia-owned cocaine when it set off on its final voyage, investigators have said.

’Ndrangheta, the feared Calabrian crime syndicate, had its drugs hidden aboard the huge cruise ship that partially capsized in January 2012 with the loss of 32 lives, phone and tape recordings of gang members have revealed.

“The same ship that made us a laughing stock around the world, took the piss out of us, too,” ’Ndrangheta boss Michele Rossi is heard saying to an associate, Massimo Tiralongo, according to police officers investigating the organisation’s vast cocaine-trafficking operation.

In addition to vessels operated by Costa Cruises, ’Ndrangheta also placed its drugs on ships owned by MSC and Norwegian Cruise Lines, which travel between Europe, North America and the Caribbean, according to details of the criminal investigation revealed in La Repubblica.

Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship Show all 6 1 /6 Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia Carabinieri divers inspecting the Costa Concordia cruise ship, at Giglio Island, Italy, in 2012. EPA/CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia The Costa Concordia hit a reef and partly capsized on 13 January 2012 EPA/CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia The ship had steered dangerously close to Giglio, in an alleged stunt by captain Francesco Schettino. EPA/CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia Thirty-two of the 4,229 people onboard were killed. EPA/CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia Divers inspect a bell inscribed with the ship's name EPA/CARABINIERI HANDOUT Costa Concordia: Inside the sunken cruise ship The Costa Concordia Divers pictured investigating the Costa Concordia in footage released days before salvage crews will attempt to re-float the ship EPA/CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT

Officers from the organised crime investigation group in Florence say that the drugs on the Concordia, which have not been found, were stowed aboard without the knowledge of senior officers or senior company officials, but almost certainly with the complicity of one or more crew members.

The Concordia, with more than 4,000 passengers and crew aboard, partially capsized on the night of 13 January 2012, close to the island of Giglio, after the captain performed a risky manoeuvre which caused it to crash into rocks near the shore, tearing a huge hole in its side.

In February this year, Francesco Schettino, the Concordia’s captain, was found guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before his passengers. He was given a 16-year jail sentence.