Op. 'Ndrangheta: logistics base dismantled in the Netherlands, drug trafficker arrested
07 September 2023

A Belgian citizen of Italian origin, Pietro Spitale , was arrested in Heerlen, Holland, on the border with Belgium, domiciled abroad for years, believed to be associated with a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking and recipient of a detention order issued by the Belgian judicial authority. The arrest is part of the coordination activities of the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office, in concert with foreign prosecutors, in the fight against the 'Ndrangheta. The investigation in question, called "Nudols", which constitutes an offshoot of the "Platinum dia" operation, which already in 2021 had led to the disintegration of a criminal group headed by families from San Luca, in the province of Reggio Calabria, and to the arrest of 33 people, made it possible to verify and document how the criminal organization investigated, among other things, had established an important logistical base in northern Europe between Belgium and the Dutch town of Heerlen, where large quantities of cocaine from South America were stored and processed together with large sums of money and weapons. The investigative activity aimed at targeted research, the result of a meticulous analysis of the encrypted chats of the 'Sky etc' phones, conducted by the Italian Dia investigators and the consequent and coordinated observation carried out by the Dutch police, gave a positive result. During the operations, which was also witnessed by the Dutch magistrate, on the precise indication of the Italian investigators, the special forces, after having cleared the area, began a meticulous search activity also with the use of excavators, finding, buried in the appurtenant garden to the house and in an area used as a chicken coop, previously covered with a concrete pour, four barrels made waterproof so that they would not undergo alterations caused by humidity. Cutting substance and equipment for packaging blocks of narcotics were found inside one of the drums. Accounting documents relating to the criminal organization as well as Italian and Belgian identity documents were also found in the house, with photographs of the arrested person affixed, but registered to other people.