'Ndrangheta, 78 arrests between Reggio Calabria and Brescia: boss Bellocco managed the gang from prison with a cell phone

'Ndrangheta, 78 arrests between Reggio Calabria and Brescia: boss Bellocco managed the gang from prison with a mobile phone.

Today two joint operations against the 'Ndrangheta. 65 arrests (47 in prison, 16 under house arrest and 2 under house arrest) for the Carabinieri of Gioia Tauro (RC). 13, however, for the Ros of Brescia.

The gangs affected are the Belloccos of Rosarno, the Spada of Ostia (with two exponents receiving the measure) e the Lamari-Larosa-Fish of the Gioia Tauro plain.

In Brescia, the ROS operated together with the Financial Police for preventive seizure of businesses, real estate, company shares, for a value of approximately 5 million euro.

The suspects are accused in various capacities of mafia association, external complicity, carrying and possession of common and war weapons, extortion, usury, damage, aggravated by the mafia method, as well as association aimed at drug trafficking, money laundering, self-laundering and criminal association aimed at tax crimes and fraud against the State.

On the Reggio Emilia front of the operationInstead, the Carabinieri believe they have discovered the new structures of the Bellocco gang, particularly active in Rosarno and with interests throughout the national territory and abroad.

The Reggio investigation, called “Night blue" and coordinated by the prosecutor John Bombardieri, took place between September 2019 and August 2020. The provision of the Judicial Authority also led to the preventive seizure of a company active in the sector of exploitation of forest resources (cutting, transport and transformation of wood), used to facilitate the criminal activities of the gang, the total value of which was estimated at 700 thousand euros.

Approximately 1.000 Carabinieri of Reggio Calabria, which in 16 Italian provinces, supported by the Calabria Hunters Helicopter Squadron and by the various territorial units, they are executing a precautionary custody order issued against 65 subjects.

The suspects in the “Blu Notte” investigation, overall, 93 sleep. They will have to defend themselves from charges of mafia association, external competition, carrying and possession of common and war weapons, extortion, usury and damage aggravated by mafia purposes, money laundering and self-laundering and association aimed at drug trafficking.

The main suspect is Umberto Bellocco, 39 years old, called “Chat” e believed to be the regent boss of the Rosarno gang of the same name.

On one occasion the boss even intervened from prison to avoid a potential massacre, in the context of tensions with another influential clan of Laureana di Borrello. Bellocco, just when the situation seemed destined to degenerate into armed conflict, he would have telephoned from his cell and would have remained on the line speaking at the 'Ndrangheta meeting called to invoke the truce.

The investigation by the DDA of Reggio Calabria has reconstructed the internal dynamics of the Bellocco gang, active in drug trafficking, in arms trafficking, in extortion and in the control of commercial and entrepreneurial activities especially in Rosarno and San Ferdinando.

Furthermore, the investigation demonstrated not only the interests of the mafia family in many areas of the country, but also the important ramifications abroad on which the Belloccos have been able to count for years.

At the same time as the arrests in Calabria and connected to the investigation by the Reggio DDA, the "Return" operation of the Brescia DDA was launched, conducted by the Carabinieri del ROS together with the Scico and the Gico of the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Brescia of the Guardia di Finanza.