The money of the ‘Ndrangheta in huge pots underground: one million euros seized
LOCAL NEWSStovall Local Tuesday 12th July 2022 04:57 PM

The money of the ‘Ndrangheta in huge pots underground: one million euros seized
TURIN The money of the ‘Ndrangheta was hidden in huge pots that the bosses had buried in the garden of their homes. The discovery comes from the searches that police men carried out since the early hours of today, Tuesday 12 July, as part of a vast operation against organized crime in Turin and other parts of the country. Part of the clan’s treasure was found thanks to the use of metal detectors with which the agents scoured the ground around the houses searched. Thus they were able to discover the cauldrons loaded with money which, once brought back to the surface, revealed a real patrimony of banknotes and coins.

The investigation by the Turin Police Headquarters
There are 28 people against whom the policemen of the Turin police headquarters have carried out the precautionary measures issued by the judge for the preliminary investigations of the Turin court. These are twenty precautionary custody in prison, six house arrest and two residence obligations, issued for various crimes: criminal association aimed at international drug trafficking, multiple sales of large quantities of drugs (hashish, marijuana and cocaine), violation of the legislation on arms, money laundering, reuse of money, criminal proceeds, robbery and receiving stolen goods. The aggravating circumstance of the number of people over ten and the availability of weapons has also been contested.

The money circulated through the “Hawala” method
At the top of the group, according to investigators, is the 43-year-old boss Vittorio Raso, arrested last June 22 near Barcelona after a period of inaction. During the investigation, police officers confiscated about 800 kilos of drugs of various types, two pistols, three rifles, 12 kilos of explosives, hundreds of ammunition and one million euros in various denominations.

The investigative activity that led to these results began in October 2019, immediately after the declaration of the inaction of the one who later turned out to be the boss of the criminal group. The man worked in Spain, where he bought and resold large quantities of drugs, supplying the markets of numerous Italian cities. While on the run, the boss organized his criminal association, using it to distribute drugs purchased in Spain in Italy. The investigators of the Turin mobile squad quantified the alleged turnover of the organization in several million euros, ascertaining that this money was then circulated through the “Hawala” method (informal transfer system, based on trust and honor of the persons in charge of the money transfer). “Hawala” is a sort of underground banking system already linked in the past to systems of money laundering and financing of suspected terrorist networks.
The group also had the availability of numerous real estate structures used as warehouses, means of transport equipped with double bottoms with electronic access, as well as encrypted cell phones purchased abroad.
On 22 June the leader of the criminal association was also arrested in Spain under some European arrest warrants, and extradition procedures are currently underway in our country.