This is the moment a cop presses a key that causes a light to drop off the back of a car, revealing a hidden compartment containing EUR 17,000 in cash that the police discovered after smashing a massive cocaine smuggling ring.

The cops struck lucky when they stopped a car driving suspiciously near Bosaro in the province of Rovigo in the Italian region of Veneto, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Venice.

Inside the car were two Albanian men and a Moldovan woman, and because it was driving suspiciously, the police decided to set up surveillance when it entered an area frequented by criminals.

When it pulled up into a house with a garage, police raided the property and found two containers holding a kilogramme (2 lbs) of cocaine each, as well as marijuana and machinery to package and sell the drugs.

They also discovered the car with the hidden compartment containing EUR 17,000 (GBP 142,00), which could only be accessed by pressing a button on a key.

And after arresting the group, the police then raided their homes, where they discovered further packages of cocaine weighing over 43 kilogrammes (95 lbs) in total.

A video shows a police officer pushing the button on the key, which causes the light to drop off, and inside is a plastic bag containing bundles of banknotes.

As well as the money in the car, they also found banknotes totalling over EUR 390,000 (GBP 326,000) during the raid on the properties, indicating that what they had effectively smashed was a large cocaine smuggling ring.

The police have confirmed that both Albanian men and the Moldovan woman are currently in custody as the investigation proceeds.