Lecce: major anti-mafia operation throughout Salento, 112 investigated and over 80 measures carried out

This morning, in Lecce and 22 other municipalities in the province, more than 470 Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Lecce supported by reinforcements from the Puglia Legion, as well as by the red berets of the Helicopter Carabinieri Squadron "Cacciatori Puglia", by the soldiers of the Public Order Operations Company and by the specialized API/SOS units of the 11th "Puglia" Regiment and of the Provincial Carabinieri Command of Brindisi, they executed a precautionary measure issued by the GIP of the Court of Lecce, on the proposal of the local Anti-Mafia District Attorney's Office, against 87 individuals out of a total of 112 investigated, of which 56 to be associated with the local prison and 31 to be subjected to house arrest, considered responsible, to varying degrees, of mafia association, as well as association aimed at drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and other crimes, including repeated extortion, aggravated by the mafia methodThe vast anti-mafia operation, which also saw the participation of the Bari Carabinieri Dog Unit and the helicopter pilots of the 6th Helicopter Unit stationed in Bari-Palese, also touched various provinces of the Northern Italy, where some recipients of the measure who had recently left Salento were tracked down and arrested. Another twenty subjects already detained, instead, received the provision directly in prison.

The survey, conducted from 2020 to 2024 by the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of the Provincial Command of Lecce, was conventionally called “SOUTH EAST” because the evidence acquired has highlighted the existence in the province of Lecce of a mafia-type criminal association, headed by a subject already convicted of mafia and now detained, to which are linked 2 further criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking throughout the Salento area, according to agreements defined within the mafia-type criminal association based in the city of Lecce.

The activity of the military personnel of the Arma, conducted with traditional methods "on the field" such as stakeouts, shadowing, reconnaissance and aerial observations, but also through sophisticated technical investigations, have confirmed that drug trafficking continues to constitute the core business of the Lecce mafia, however a significant element of novelty highlighted by the investigation is the openness to possible "collaborations" between criminal groups operating in different areas of Salento, a sort of criminal "joint venture" elected as a form of profit that includes several associations led by exponents of organized crime, around which drug trafficking, extortion for drug debts, self-laundering and violation of the regulations on weapons revolve, all crimes carried out independently as well as in association, giving rise to a web of illicit business that is profitable for all the associations, in a mutual collaboration pact that ensured profit and control of the territory.

The seriousness of the circumstantial evidence obtained, at the moment, on the precautionary level, concerns suspects of high criminal importance, among which stands out the prisoner Penza Antonio Marco, already convicted for 416bis, operating in the baroque city, as well as his two main territorial referents such as Leo Andrea, also already convicted for 416bis, operating in the territories of Vernole, Melendugno and neighboring towns and the so-called "emerging lever" Urso Francesco operating in the territory of Andrano and neighboring towns, each at the top of the hegemonic organizations in the areas of their respective competence..

The latter two would have been capable of managing a real monopoly of drug trafficking and dealing by taking advantage of their membership in the mafia group headed by the aforementioned Penza Antonio Marco, using a dense network of collaborators distributed in the capital and in the various towns of the province, who are believed to have had the task of managing relationships with other criminal organizations present throughout Salento interested in the drug business. In this regard, from the evidence that has emerged, each criminal group would have a top-down organizational structure, characterized by hierarchical constraints, stable relationships of frequentation, great capacity for regeneration, interchangeability of roles, availability of weapons and logistical bases.

Furthermore, the prolonged and detailed investigative activities have allowed us to detect the activism of numerous well-structured and organised drug dealing centres in the province of Lecce, such as the one in the territory of Racale and the neighbouring towns, or the one in Tricase and the drug dealing centres in the area of ​​Scorrano and Maglie, which are all apparently managed by other members of the Penza group.

In this regard, in the precautionary measure the Judge has contested 18 defendants' membership in the mafia association, specifying the strong intimidation charge of the criminal groups led by historical exponents of the Salento mafia such as the aforementioned boss Penza Antonio Marco still in prison, who, thanks to a historic mafia leadership, would have succeeded from behind bars in giving continuity to the clan and at the same time in increasing the volume of drug trafficking, thus guaranteeing complete hegemony over the territory of Lecce and the province, making use of his trusted men at large, the so-called "operational arms" of the association, capable, when necessary, of carrying out intimidating or retaliatory actions, to ensure control over the other groups.

Finally, there is a chapter of the investigation that concerns an attempted murder that took place in Lecce in 2014, when Massimo Caroppo, then 46 years old, miraculously survived gunshots, hit by bullets in the face and left arm, during an ambush that took place in San Ligorio, on the outskirts of Lecce, an episode that remained a “cold case” for over ten years. The Carabinieri managed to reveal the names of the alleged perpetrators of that episode, also verifying the words of some collaborators of justice who had made some statements regarding that ambush, which arose from the conflicts between members of rival clans for interests related to drug trafficking.

The defendants are charged with 127 counts, specifically:
– 1 mafia association (against 18 suspects);
– 3 associations aimed at drug trafficking (the one operating in Lecce charged to 24 suspects, the second operating in Andrano charged to 30 suspects, the third operating in Vernole-Melendugno charged to 12 suspects);
– 319 drug-related crimes;
– 7 extortion crimes and 12 weapons crimes;
– 16 various crimes (including attempted murder, crimes against the person and against property).

During the investigation, the following were 25 arrests made for drug-related crimes carried out by the Carabinieri during the investigation, with the seizure of almost 40 kilograms of narcotics including cocaine, hashish, heroin and marijuana, as well as various seizures of weapons available to affiliates, including pistols, shotguns and related ammunition.

Various preventive seizures are underway aimed at confiscation by equivalent, against some suspects who have accumulated large amounts of money through drug trafficking including real estate (land and buildings), cars and financial relationships, for a total value of approximately one million seven hundred thousand euros. Among the seized assets there is also the business compendium of a renowned pizzeria located in the center of Lecce, managed by a company of which one of the main suspects is a member.