Italian authorities seized a huge quantity of drugs that were allegedly destined for Islamic State fighters in Libya, who use them to dull pain and suppress fatigue.

The shipment, which was intercepted in Genoa, consisted of 37 million tablets of Tramadol, a pain-killer reportedly used by ISIL terrorists to increase their battlefield resilience.

Italian police believe that ISIL leaders planned to sell the packets of pain-killers to their foot soldiers in Libya for the equivalent of two euros each, which would have netted them 74 million euros.

The drugs would also have been sold to people in the street in Libya and Egypt, where dependence on Tramadol has become a serious social problem.

The drugs were found in three containers that were in transit through Genoa.

The packets of pills were concealed amid bottles of shampoo and other hygiene products.