Drugs, the "turn over" gang between Italy and Albania: 22 arrests, there is also the brother of one of the cousins ??killed in 2016
by Andrea Camurani
Prominent figures of the Albanian "mafia" involved families in their country of origin to have fresh workers to put to work, in shifts of three months at a time

The Carabinieri who during the investigations observed the movements and activities of the gang specialized in dealing large quantities of drugs between Varesotto and Milanese were amazed at the almost workaholic ability of the affiliates to take, process, package and sell the doses. Then they understood : they took turns . And when it came time to sum up, that is, after having gathered the elements to make the arrests through the coordination of the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office (DDA) of Milan, it was no coincidence that the entire operation was called "turn over".

Twenty-two arrests, of which 20 in prison and 2 under house arrest, many of them prominent figures of the Albanian "underworld" who also involved families in their country of origin to have fresh workers to employ in the drug dealing centers, but also in all the logistical phases of traffic in various provinces of Northern Italy; a vast area where at dawn on Wednesday the Carabinieri of the operational and mobile radio unit of Busto Arsizio went to ring the doorbells of the suspects to have them handcuffed: V arese, Milan, Lecco, Bergamo and Novara, with over 80 soldiers employed and canine units.

The investigative activity started from the arrest in flagrante delicto of an Albanian citizen found in possession of 110 doses of cocaine, for a total weight of almost one ounce, and approximately 12 thousand euros in cash, an arrest carried out by the company's soldiers of Busto Arsizio in June 2020. The subsequent investigative activities developed both through traditional investigations - confidences and stakeouts - and with "technical" findings which made it possible to reconstruct the dense network of pushers active between the lower Varesotto and the hinterland Milanese.

"The depth of the criminal group is also highlighted by the meticulous internal organisation, with associates in charge of logistical support in favor of the pushers coming from Albania, the supply and transport of drugs and the packaging of the doses", explain the carabinieri, who have reconstructed also the duration of the work "shift" of the family members who remained in Italy for approximately three months before returning to the Land of the Eagles.

The investigations already during the investigative phase had borne the hoped-for results: 6 red-handed arrests, and more than a quintal of drugs seized including coca, hashish and heroin which would have brought in approximately 3 million euros on the market (in addition to 453,000 euros in cash seized).

One of those arrested on Wednesday is the brother of one of the victims of the Canegrate shooting who left two bodies on the ground in November 2016 during a feud between rival gangs for control of the territory.