Three Sardinians are among the 59 people under investigation in a major investigation by the Guardia di Finanza into a criminal organization involved in international cocaine trafficking. Nine people were arrested pursuant to a precautionary detention order issued by the Catanzaro District Judge, at the request of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate.
According to investigators, the group was capable of importing a ton of cocaine from Latin America and selling over 200 kilos of hashish , destined for the markets of Rome, Grosseto, and Milan. The organization had also set up several marijuana plantations in Tuscany, Lazio, and Calabria, with an estimated turnover of over €47 million. During the investigation, assets worth a total of €600,000 were seized.
The investigations shed light on a criminal organization led by the Gallace clan of the 'Ndrangheta. The DDA reconstructed numerous cocaine imports from Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. The drugs were transported in containers loaded onto cargo ships destined for Northern European ports (Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Antwerp) and domestic ports (Gioia Tauro, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Genoa, and Trieste). According to investigators, the encrypted chats used by the suspects to plan their business proved crucial. Decrypting the conversations allowed investigators to identify many of the individuals involved in international cocaine trafficking.
Among these, a key role was played by a Calabrian broker, considered "one of the most important contacts in Calabria," who resides in Germany. In this way, from May 2020 to March 2021, the suspects were able to import a ton of cocaine, part of which (over 400 kilos) was intercepted by the Guardia di Finanza, who carried out 17 seizures. On one occasion, a container, departing from Peru and arriving in the port of Trieste, was intercepted, containing 100 kilos of cocaine hidden in coffee.
(Unioneonline)