Drugs, Covid scams and ecobonuses to finance the 'Ndrangheta: 18 arrests in Lombardy
The suspects (many already in prison) linked to the Morabito, Bruzzaniti and Palamara clans. At the center of the investigation are the doctor, son of the boss, and a warehouse in Paderno Dugnano
The carabinieri involved during the investigations

Monza, 24 October 2023 – Criminal association aimed at drug trafficking, extortion and the commission of economic-financial crimes whose proceeds, as explained in a note, "were intended to facilitate the activities of the ' Ndrangheta .

On this basis, the agents of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Milan and the Carabinieri of Monza, with the support of the Investigative Unit of the Penitentiary Police, carried out, upon delegation from Dia itself, an order against eighteen people under investigation for the aforementioned crimes . .

Seven of the 18 suspects are already in prison, another four are under house arrest, three with an obligation to stay and four with an obligation to report to the judicial police and, according to the investigators, they would be attributable to the "Morabito-Palamara-Bruzzaniti gang" linked to the ' Calabrian ndrangheta.

The Calabrian doctor
The investigation, coordinated by prosecutors Sara Ombra and Paolo Biondolillo, began in 2019 and involved 68 subjects , divided into two criminal associations which, although "operationally separated by matter" (on the one hand the commission of economic crimes - financial, on the other hand, drug trafficking and extortion), were both directed by a Calabrian doctor, collaborator of some Milanese RSAs, already definitively convicted of drug trafficking and, above all, son of the historic head of the aforementioned gang, currently detained under the 41-bis regime following an irrevocable conviction for mafia association.

The first group
The first group created 'paper mill' companies specialized in issuing false invoices , aimed at providing coverage for the non-existent purchases of goods and services, with the sole aim of creating, in favor of third parties, the availability "under the table" of huge amounts sums of money, thus removed from any form of control and monitoring.

During the activities, it was possible to seize approximately 50 thousand euros in cash, and reconstruct the sale of false guarantee policies, formally issued by one of the largest national banking groups, in favor of businesses and individual firms - in one case in favor of businesses operating in the gaming and betting sector - who would never have obtained them as they lacked the necessary financial solidity.

Covid contributions
The operation, which blocked the disbursement of Covid benefits of 2 million euros, for which the required (false) documentation had already been filed, led to the emergence of a real consultancy system to offer "professional" services ” for financial crimes: counterfeit financial statements, fictitious increases in share capital, false tax credits, false guarantees as well as the creation of paper companies to hide large sums in black money or to exploit compensation during the pandemic period.

Rivers of drugs
The second of the two criminal groups was responsible for several crimes of importation, purchase, transport and sale on the market of Northern Italy (Milan, Turin and other provinces) and in Calabria, of hundreds of kilos of narcotic substances (cocaine, heroin , marijuana and hashish ) as well as managing a debt collection activity using the typical methods used by mafia organisations, also resorting, when necessary, to the use of weapons.

For this purpose, the association had logistical and operational bases, where the members could meet and store the narcotic, such as a warehouse in Paderno Dugnano ; mobile phones, registered to third parties, changed frequently and used for communications relating to the illicit activity; cars used to transport the narcotic, often specifically rented for this purpose or made available by one of the suspects.

The investigation also made it possible to reconstruct the foreign supply channels and, on the occasion of one of the intercepted sales, it was possible to arrest the courier red-handed and seize 5 kilograms of heroin, initially destined for the Calabrian market.

The markets
The drugs also came from Spain , Austria and Albania and the opening of a sales channel for cocaine coming from Peru and Brazil and destined for members of a well-known 'Ndrangheta family was also verified.

Searches are still underway in the provinces of Milan, Monza Brianza, Pavia, Varese, Novara, Alessandria, Messina and Foggia, in homes and businesses resulting in the availability of the subjects involved, also with the supp