Milano, "Arhat" operation: Carabinieri against Narcos and drug dealers, 37 arrests and several seizures

Milano, in the early hours of the morning, the Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Milano, in the aforementioned Province and in those of Alessandria, Bergamo, Genoa, Monza, Padua, Pavia, Rome, Varese, Vibo Valentia and Vicenza, have implemented a precautionary custody order, issued by the GIP at the Milanese Court at the request of the local District Anti-Mafia Directorate (Agg. Proc. Dr. Alessandra DOLCI and Deputy Proc. Dr. Gianluca PRISCO), against 37 subjects (20 Italians and 17 foreigners, 27 of whom will be confined in prison and 10 subjected to house arrest ), held responsible - in various capacities - for association aimed at the production, trafficking and dealing of narcotic substances, with the aggravating circumstances of transnationality and the availability of weapons (arts. 74 and 73 Presidential Decree 309/90, art. 1, 2 , 4 and 7 L. 895 of 1967).

The operation, called "Arhat", arose from an investigation launched in August 2018 by the soldiers of the Carabinieri Company of Milano Duomo following the flagrant arrest of an Italian citizen, found in possession of 3,5 kg of narcotic substance (between cocaine, hashish and marijuana).

The investigations allowed the identification of various criminal groups, all operating in the Lombardy capital although with ramifications in other areas of the country, active in drug trafficking and dealing. One of these groups was found to be made up of Italian individuals (some of Calabrian origin), two of whom were found to maintain strong relationships with leaders and emissaries of the 'Ndrangheta in Reggio. The remaining groups can be traced back to nuclei of Eritrean and South American origin, as well as to some cells, of various nationalities or ethnicities, independent of each other, which however have highlighted a marked transnational operation.

The name of the operation ("Arhat", an expression used in the Buddhist religion to indicate "he who has achieved perfection") is inspired by that of the dog of an unscrupulous Italian couple who, by setting up a thriving "family" type business dedicated to In the importation and sale of various kinds of narcotics, he did not hesitate to involve his 11-year-old son in the drug dealing, using his apartment in Milan (in the Sempione area) as the organization's "logistical base" for this purpose.

The activity, as a whole, has made it possible to: already make 23 arrests in flagrante delicto and seize, overall: approximately 35 kg of narcotic substances (of the cocaine, hashish and marijuana type); approximately €100.000 in cash (proceeds from criminal activity); 6 pistols and 1 carbine (found in the possession of the aforementioned couple).

During the operation, the preventive seizure of a current account and the aforementioned apartment, identified as a "logistical base" for the packaging of the narcotic substances, and 45 house searches were also carried out.