https://torino.diariodelweb.it/torino/articolo/?nid=20180830-526614Nigerian Mafia in Turin, how powerful it is and how to fight: interview with the head of the Mobile Squad
Prostitution, shop and begging with the shadow of voodoo rituals. Is the Nigerian mafia really so powerful in Turin? And above all, how do you fight? This is explained by Marco Martino, the first manager of the Turin Mobile Squad
Andrea Parisotto
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018
53
Nigerian Mafia in Turin, how powerful it is and how to fight: interview with the head of the Mobile Squad
Nigerian mafia in Turin, how powerful it is and how to fight: interview with the head of the Mobile Squad (SHUTTERSTOCK / LINKEDIN)
TURIN - The Nigerian mafia is increasingly powerful in Turin. A few weeks ago, in one of our reports , we told you how the criminal association has managed to penetrate the territory of Turin, managing different types of illicit traffics despite the presence of police and 'Ndrangheta. What is really the situation in the city? And what are the measures taken by law enforcement agencies to counter the Nigerian mafia? We asked Marco Martino, the first manager of the Turin Mobile Squad. So many themes are addressed between analysis of the phenomenon, solutions and an unsettling idea: a possible weapon to fight the foreign mafia could be Italian police but of Nigerian origin.
ADVERTISING
Doctor Martino, good morning. Is the Nigerian mafia really an emerging criminal association even here in Turin?
Like all criminal associations, even Nigerian crime in the recent past has had a mafia-like character. The Turin Public Prosecutor's Office, which has coordinated the investigations with the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza and the State Police, has already succeeded in moving the protests of mafia-type associations to groups of young Nigerian cultists. We have arrived at requests for indictment with convictions since 2009. It means that for the city of Turin, a sedentary presence of criminals of certain characteristics has been proven. The Nigerian cultists controlled a certain type of territory.
Can you delineate it?
In some cases they were small areas of city streets where they managed to exercise control over some illegal activities such as drug dealing and prostitution. In other areas they devoted themselves to extortion to traders of their own ethnic group. The investigations allowed to gather very solid sources of evidence and to challenge the 416 bis. The processes are done by identifying the subjects and giving them a role. All this must be ascertained through test sources, telephone tapping and so on.
Prostitutes near Piazza Massaua
Prostitute near Piazza Massaua (© Diario di Torino)
Begging, prostitution, drugs: what are the businesses on which the power of Nigerian organized crime is founded?
I confirm that the drug is a feature of primary importance, as well as the exploitation of prostitution. The mafia organization does not deal with managing the single prostitute, but manages the proceeds that come from the maman (former prostitutes who now coordinate the younger girls). In the recent past, they dealt with trafficking, managing the subjects that flow into migratory flows from Libya. There are people who despite having lost contact with a referent in Italy, continue to be part of the criminal organization for fear of physical repercussions in their country, against family members. Let's take an example that concerns women: who arrives here knows that he has to contact a specific person to re-establish contacts. They contact a contact person who then takes them to the maman on duty, that takes care of assigning it a pitch. From there the exploitation begins, you have to reach 25,000 / 30,000 euros to repay the costs of the route. I also confirm threats with voodoo rituals.
The phenomenon of begging is more visible, especially in everyday life
Yes it is true, if the perception is increased means that they are more present in front of supermarkets or commercial structures of the city but does not mean that every black stranger outside a supermarket is exploited by the mafia Nigerian. In some places this type of illicit business is the prerogative of Nigerian criminals. The investigations will allow us to demonstrate if and how this sad phenomenon is still current or not.
Man forced to beg: always present the baseball cap
Man forced to beg: always present the baseball cap (© Diario di Torino)
Applies to the Nigerian mafia, applies to all foreign mafias. How difficult is it to punish the subjects who are part of it with article 416 bis? What are the biggest difficulties?
The 416 bis is a typically Italian crime that does not find parallel and similar regulatory positions in foreign legislation. The legislator has evolved the legislation, also identifying foreign mafias, so that any criminal organization that uses the intimidation of its power, control of a portion of territory, omerta and fear must be punished louder. There is difficulty both for Italians and for foreigners: narrow dialects are difficult to interpret for the collection of evidence sources. A narrow Calabrian, Sicilian or Apulian dialect is sometimes just as difficult to translate and turn into a valid document in the degrees of judgment. It is not enough to say "he behaved like a mafioso". The only access to the postponement phase, is a very advanced phase in the criminal trial. The sources of evidence must allow us to reach a stage of indictment, I assure you that it is not at all simple. Today the use of test sources, interpreters and technology help us but the technology is also used by criminals: people who use technologies of very few euros that make the work of law enforcement difficult.
You have an idea of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthat relationships and balances there are between the Nigerian organized criminal association and the "homegrown" mafias , I think of the 'Ndrangheta for example.
The control of the territory in certain areas of northern Italy can not be said to be only the prerogative of the Italian mafia, which is why there is more penetration of foreign criminal organizations. There are very large areas where fortunately there is no control of organized crime. Where the local mafia is strong, it is more difficult for foreign mafias to expand. In Turin, for example, the Romanians (the gang of Brigada), or the Chinese, or the Russian mafia, more difficult to penetrate the territory. The fact remains that, in 2018, the points of contact between mafias are now around the world.
The arrest of a member of the Nigerian mafia
The arrest of a member of the Nigerian mafia (© Carabinieri)
But how did the Nigerian mafia become powerful? What is its characteristic?
It is not simple, certainly the Nigerians have a large distribution in the world. They know how to relate and settle in the most disparate points on the planet, a bit like the 'Ndrangheta has done with homegrown emigration. We must remember that we are a country of migrants, we have exported work and criminals who in certain areas have made their fortune, but have also brought problems. Nigerian migrants have exported forms of crime, thanks to the ease of mobilization. It is difficult to eradicate them because they are very impenetrable. If they are violent? Of course yes, in the word "mafia" violence is inherent. If it does not put fear it would not be a mafia phenomenon.
Can we say that in the last period the attention of the police to the Nigerian mafia has increased?
The attention has not increased, because all the mafias are subjected to great control and that is why we do not forget the "our" mafia: continue to be present and subject to investigation.
Is it possible to imagine a Turin free from the Nigerian mafia, but more generally free from any type of mafia regardless of nationality?
It is a constantly evolving society, characterized by ever-changing criminal phenomena. I hope for a more inclusive and updated Turin from the point of view of the police. The secret will be in the middle. Maybe with the police that can benefit from the collaboration of Italian policemen but of foreign origin, which may be a key: when Italian criminals have conquered American cities like Chicago, New York, etc., the most effective forms of conflict came from groups of police made by second-generation Italian / Americans. Agents who thought like them, knew dialects, customs and customs. Imagine if we had 5/6 policemen Italian citizens but of Nigerian origin, we could carry out our task with an ability to analyze and know the deepest phenomenon. In Turin we have a lot of Calabrian policemen, just because in the Mobile Squad we needed to translate phone calls and dialogues of the 'Ndrangheta. This can be a recipe.
Marco Martino was born in Rome in 1968. He graduated in Law and Political Science, has been deputy Police Commissioner of State Police since 2001. Since 1993 he has resided in Turin and is currently deputy manager of the Mobile Squad - Director of the Organized Crime Section.
