Reggio Emilia: International drug trafficking worth 8 million Euros, Italian-Albanian criminal organization dismantled

At 4:00 this morning over 100 members of the Guardia di Finanza and State Police officers, on behalf of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Bologna and under the direction of the Deputy Prosecutor, Dr. Roberto Ceroni, have given execution of the Order of Application of Personal Precautionary Measure against 15 subjects (of which 12 in prison and 3 under house arrest), simultaneously executing a Decree of personal, local search and seizure against 16 subjects.

The investigation activity has allowed us to identify an Italian/Albanian criminal organization that – based in the province of Reggio Emilia and dedicated to international drug trafficking – since 2020, has imported and purchased (from Albania, Kosovo, Ecuador, Colombia and the Netherlands) as well as held and sold throughout the national territory (with, also, some distributions taking place from the province of Reggio Emilia to Calabria): 23 kg of cocaine, 6 kg of heroin, 80 kg of hashish and 240 kg of marijuana for an estimated value of 8 million euros. During the complex investigations – which have highlighted the associative nature of the crimes committed – the association between individuals of Albanian nationality, others belonging to the 'ndrangheta-type organized crime and others still close to the Lazio crime was found.

During the investigations, 5 individuals had already been arrested in flagrante delicto for drug trafficking, 4 of whom were again affected by today's ordinance.

Furthermore, the introduction into the national territory from Spain of €75.000,00 in counterfeit €500,00 banknotes was ascertained.

The complete reconstruction of the illicit international drug trafficking activity was possible - in addition to the use of technical investigations with telephone and environmental interceptions - also thanks to the subsequent acquisition of numerous telematic conversations that the drug traffickers had exchanged via encrypted smartphones using the Sky-ECC application. These data were acquired following a European Investigation Order (EIO), thanks to a complex judicial police activity conducted by the French, Dutch and Belgian Police Forces on the encrypted communication platform SKYECC, where it was possible to draw on millions of messages of investigative interest, exchanged between members of criminal organizations and operating in various countries of the European Union.

The criminal organization has proven capable of operating on the national territory in multiple distinct geographical contexts, but inextricably interfunctional:

- that emilian, where the management and operational headquarters were located (as well as the residence of the majority of the members) of Reggio Emilia and further logistical bases were located (Sassuolo e Polinago);

- that Calabrese, territory used in connection with local criminal groups, both for the supply of batches of cocaine and for the distribution of quantities of heroin, hashish and marijuana;

- that Roman, with the entry into the business of individuals well-connected to the criminal circuits of the capital;

- that Venetian, used both as a terminal for the distribution of narcotics and for the extemporaneous acquisition of supplies of narcotics to meet contingent needs, in relation to which the Turin area was also drawn upon.

The association – with high penetration capabilities in drug dealing areas not only in Emilia, being able to count on a distribution network branched out across the entire national territory and on European and South American supply channels – was managed as a real business activity, with absolutely managerial methods characterized by continuous planning, agile adaptation to contingent situations and the search for maximum profit.

The high number of purchases of narcotics and of the same transfers, have confirmed the high social dangerousness of the accomplices which, as far as the suspects of Calabrian origin are concerned, is also substantiated by the existence of relationships of a family nature with members of the Calabrian 'ndrina attributable to the Grande Aracri family, rooted in the Emilian territory for years.

At the same time, 10 people permanently established in the Reggio Emilia area (originally from Calabria and Albania) were reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Reggio Emilia. Through 7 companies (of which 6 operating in the province of Reggio Emilia and 1 in that of Parma, as well as 3 found to be actual shell companies), they issued invoices for non-existent transactions for a total of €5.276.611,18, obtaining an illicit profit for an amount of over €511.330,05. The companies operate (and in some cases, operated, since they ceased their activity) mainly in the construction sector.

The fight against international drug trafficking - aimed at establishing a valuable bulwark for the safety of citizens and for the maintenance of public order - demonstrates the constant commitment to the prevention and repression of economic and financial crimes, which finds in the aggression of assets the most effective form of contrast to criminal organizations as well as the correct protection of the legal economy.