Catania, Operation “Primus”: Extortion, Drug Trafficking, Illicit Possession of Weapons. 21 People in Prison
The elements acquired during the activity have further supported the mafia origins of the Scalisi clan from Adran in light of the numerous meetings recorded between the top exponents
Catania, Operation “Primus”: Extortion, Drug Trafficking, Illicit Possession of Weapons. 21 People in Prison.
Since the early hours of the day, on behalf of this District Anti-Mafia Directorate, the State Police – Catania Police Headquarters Mobile Squad and Adrano State Police Station (who acted with the support of the Central Anti-Crime Directorate of the State Police with the dispatch of several crews from the Crime Prevention Unit, to which were added units from the local Police Headquarters and its branches as well as specialized units such as the Scientific Police, Mobile Unit and also a helicopter from the Flight Unit) has executed the order for the application of a precautionary measure issued by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations at the Court of Catania against the following 21 individuals who were detained in prison because they were seriously suspected, to varying degrees, of mafia-type association crimes (Scalisi clan of Adrano), extortion, drug trafficking and illegal possession and carrying of firearms, all crimes aggravated by the aim of facilitating the mafia association to which they belong.
The investigations started in July 2021 by this Office which directed and carried them out by the Flying Squad and the Adrano State Police Station, were supported by technical aids and, without prejudice to the presumption of innocence until a final conviction, have made it possible to acquire a serious circumstantial framework against numerous affiliates, including the current leaders, of the Scalisi mafia clan of Adrano (CT), a territorial branch in the aforementioned Municipality of the Laudani clan of Catania.
The investigative activity - which constitutes the natural continuation of previous investigations into the aforementioned mafia association, which resulted in the Illegal Duty operation of 7.2017, in the The King operation of 16.7.2020, in the Follow the money operation of 10.2.2021 (in which companies located in various Italian locations were seized); in the arrest of 2.3.2021, operation Triade - - also highlighted that following his release from prison on 29.7.2022, the historical (and top-ranking) member of the Scalisi clan, once released, would immediately place himself at the top of the mafia association, becoming its regent.
During the investigations, on the basis of the elements collected in this investigative phase to be subjected to the subsequent cross-examination in the various levels of judgment, the current organizational chart of the Scalisi clan was reconstructed.
The elements acquired during the activity have further supported the mafia origins of the Scalisi clan from Adrano in light of the numerous meetings recorded between the top exponents, believed, on the basis of the investigations carried out, to belong to the same level of the Laudani mafia clan from Catania.
In addition to the organizational chart of the Scalisi gang, the investigation has provided an insight into the crimes committed by members of the clan, including numerous extortions, committed in the typical mafia form of "pizzo", to the detriment of Adranite traders and entrepreneurs who are systematically forced to pay monthly sums of money to the mafia organization's tax collectors.
To about, During the operation, several episodes of damage and intimidation were reconstructed against traders who had not agreed to the imposition of the "pizzo" by the emissaries of the Scalisi clan.
Furthermore, the coffers of the mafia association would have been constantly replenished by the proceeds of a widespread trafficking of narcotic substances such as cocaine and marijuana managed by members of the organization who, in this criminal context, took advantage of a phase of operational weakness of the other mafia organization in Adrano, which over the years has been hit by numerous arrests.
The investigations have confirmed the well-known dangerousness of the members of the Scalisi clan who are said to have equipped themselves with firearms in order to guard their territory and protect their criminal business from possible interference by rival mafia groups, thus ensuring the military support necessary to sustain the confrontation with other mafia groups.
In this regard, among the various verification activities carried out during the investigation, in August 2022, on the occasion of a possible fibrillation with the other Adranita Santangelo clan, another individual was arrested because he was found in possession of a sawn-off shotgun, as well as 76 grams of cocaine.
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