Fondi (Latina), custody order issued against 16 people for multiple crimes

By order of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Rome in the morning, in the provinces of Latina and Rome, the Investigative Unit of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Latina, the Flying Squad of the Latina Police Headquarters, together with the agents of the Fondi Police Station and the Operational Unit of the Terracina Carabinieri Company, and supported in the executive phase by the Crime Prevention Unit of the State Police, by the Pratica di Mare Carabinieri Air Group, by dog ​​units of the Arma and the State Police, they executed a precautionary custody order issued by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations at the Court of Rome against 16 people seriously suspected, to varying degrees, of belonging to an association aimed at drug trafficking aggravated by the use of weapons, extortion, usury, private violence and aggravated threats.

The aforementioned precautionary measure arises from three distinct investigative activities conducted by the aforementioned departments, coordinated by the Rome District Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office, and merged, by connection, into the same criminal proceeding.. In particular:

– the first, conducted by the Investigative Unit in 2020, originates from the arrest for drug trafficking of an acolyte of the investigated association who, immediately after his arrest, decided to collaborate with justice. The main investigative source of these proceedings, with regard to the episodes of which they are seriously accused, consists of the communications between the suspects, through the encrypted system «Encrochat» which it was possible to decrypt thanks to the identification in French territory of the server on which all the chats converged;

– the second, conducted by the Latina Flying Squad and the Carabinieri Investigative Unit together with the Fondi Police Station and the Regional Investigative Unit of the Penitentiary Police of Rome, throughout the year 2021, originates from a series of dynamite attacks recorded in Fondi in the first half of 2021;

– the third, conducted by the Terracina Carabinieri Operations Unit from April to August 2024, originates from an extortion episode that occurred in 2023.

The investigations have allowed us to reconstruct the existence of an armed gang dedicated to drug trafficking and operating in the province of Latina, in which, among others, individuals who had already committed repeat offences in the specific sector of drug-related crimes took part., some with the role of leader, promoter and financier and some with the role of simple participant in the association, who have ensured the stable supply of the drug dealing areas of Fondi, Latina, Terracina and Nettuno, thanks to a consolidated experience gained in the sector and a solid network of subjects dedicated to the marketing of the narcotic.

The investigations were developed through the execution of observation services, classic investigation activities supported by technical interception activities and targeted checks. The episodes of drug trafficking reconstructed during the investigations, for which the GIP found the existence of serious evidence, are placed in the context of a local association formed for the purpose of purchasing, holding and marketing large quantities of drugs such as hashish, marijuana and cocaine, having a logistical-operational base mainly in Fondi (LT).

The investigations also allowed the foiling of three separate armed attacks organized against two drug dealers who wanted to carve out their own space in the drug trafficking sector in the city of Latina.

During the investigation, investigators have already made arrests in flagrante delicto and, in particular, a large seizure of narcotics, weapons, including war weapons, ammunition and explosives which occurred on 23.12.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX in the city of Fondi.