Vast operation against international drug trafficking: arrests carried out throughout Italy

The State Police and the Carabinieri, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Milano – The District Anti-Mafia Directorate, yesterday morning executed 12 precautionary custody orders, 17 arrest warrants for suspects and dozens of search warrants against as many individuals, mainly residing in Lombardy, Sicily and Calabria, investigated – on various counts – for criminal association aimed at drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms, including war weapons, usury, receiving stolen goods, personal aiding and abetting, ideological falsehood committed by a private individual in a public deed, issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, criminal association aimed at committing tax crimes such as fictitious ownership of real estate and company shares, money laundering, self-laundering, reinvestment of profits from the aforementioned underlying crimes through the establishment and management of numerous companies.

The operation stems from two complex investigative activities conducted between 2021 and 2023, which made it possible to reveal the existence of four converging criminal groups operating in the international drug trafficking sector.

The first activity, conducted by investigators of the State Police - Flying Squad of Lecco and Como has allowed the internal dynamics and illicit activities of two distinct criminal associations, operating in the Larian province and in the Milan area, dedicated to the importation and trafficking of large quantities of narcotic substances in the Lombardy region. The volume of trafficking amounted to one ton of drugs per month, destined to supply the main drug dealing areas throughout the country.

The activity carried out by the State Police - Lecco Mobile Squad has allowed us to ascertain the existence of a a dense transnational drug dealing network managed by several individuals, mostly of Italian origin, based in the Milan area, who managed to import, mainly from abroad and in particular from Spain, large quantities of drugs into the national territory, destined to supply the main drug dealing areas in Lombardy but also in Sicily and Calabria.

Furthermore, during the investigation activity, an independent investigative line was developed, conducted by the operators of the State Police - Como Mobile Squad, specifically focused on Larian province where the presence of a further criminal association aimed at trafficking and dealing in marijuana and hashish has been certifiedThe association, composed of Italian individuals, purchased the substances from the organization based in the Milan area, to then supply dealers and consumers in the province of Como and the upper Lario.

The second investigative activity, initiated by the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of Milano, upon international rogatory with the Peruvian Authorities, in October 2021, following the arrest in flagrante delicto – in Lima – of a Peruvian citizen leaving for Milano, caught while carrying over 2 kg of cocaine allowed us to outline an association dedicated to drug trafficking, headed by an Italian individual, an expression of the Mancuso clan of Limbadi (VV), who reinvested the illicit proceeds in other apparently legal activities. In fact, the same person was also the head of a further criminal association dedicated to the commission of financial crimes such as money laundering, self-laundering, fraudulent transfer of assets and issuing invoices for non-existent transactions, operating in the provinces of Milano, Monza and Brianza and Vibo Valentia.

In particular, the investigative activity, developed with a complex system of technical and traditional activities, as well as with the acquisition of data extrapolated from the encrypted chats of the SkyECC platform, allowed us to find that the system of importing and selling cocaine fed a dense drug dealing network on a daily basis in the Milan area, mostly made up of "batteries" of drug dealers of Italian origin, dedicated to the distribution of narcotics in the metropolitan area of Milano, in particular the area of ​​Piazza Prealpi, Cimitero Maggiore and in the province of Monza and Brianza.

Both investigative activities have allowed us to reconstruct numerous episodes of importation from Spain, Belgium and Holland, of possession, transportation and delivery of drugs in various Italian provinces. The modus operandi consisted of purchasing, mostly abroad, large quantities of narcotic substances, which were then resold to other individuals who in turn were involved in the subsequent wholesale marketing: once they arrived in Northern Italy, the drugs were transported to various warehouses used by the gangs and subsequently redistributed and sold to the final recipients.

During the investigations, approximately one ton of hashish, over 200 kg of marijuana and 10 kg of cocaine and heroin were seized, as well as 2 pistols with relative ammunition. A total of 13 arrests were made in flagrante delicto and the use of tools functional to the pursuit of illegal activities was also ascertained, such as cell phones connected to encrypted platforms, both for contacts between affiliates and for contacts with suppliers and customers.

The operation, still underway, is involving hundreds of State Police and Carabinieri officers, with the involvement of the Flying Squads and Investigative Units of various provinces across the country and the support of SISCO of Milano, of the Crime Prevention Departments and of the anti-drug canine units, as well as of the Carabinieri Groups of Milano, Rho and the Casatenovo (LC) Dog Unit.