Anti-drug blitz in the Gioia Tauro plain, 11 arrests
Carabinieri attack the trafficking of cocaine, marijuana and crack
REGGIO CALABRIA , 20 October 2023, 11.25am

ANSA editorial team

An anti-drug operation began last night in Gioia Tauro where 11 people were arrested by the Carabinieri who carried out a precautionary custody order issued by the investigating judge at the request of the Palmi Prosecutor's Office, directed by Emanuele Crescenti.

Nine suspects ended up in prison and two under house arrest.

The raid by the Carabinieri, as part of the "Smart delivery" investigation, affected not only the province of Reggio Calabria but also those of Benevento, Vibo Valentia and Syracuse.
The suspects are accused of illicit production, trafficking and possession of narcotic or psychotropic substances.
According to investigations by the Carabinieri of the Gioia Tauro company, between August 2020 and June 2022, a group of individuals originating from some municipalities in the Piana, using a well-tested and tested system, were responsible for managing, in various locations, the dealing in cocaine, marijuana and crack.
During the lockdown period due to the Covid emergency, drugs were delivered to homes in the Piana di Gioia Tauro. Hence the name - Smart delivery - given to the operation conducted today by the carabinieri who arrested eleven people who were the recipients of a precautionary custody order issued by the investigating judge at the request of the Palmi prosecutor Emanuele Crescenti.
There are a total of 23 suspects, accused of various capacities of production, trafficking and possession of narcotic or psychotropic substances. 9 ended up in prison: Domenico Laganà, 28 years old, resident in Gioia Tauro, Antonio Paladino (41) from Rosarno, Francesco Cosoleto (45) from Gioia Tauro, Rosario Caminiti (42) from Rosarno, Michele Pronestì (48 years) from Polistena , Mario Martorano (26) from Rosarno, Fortunato Martorano (24) from Rosarno, Domenico Scarmato (55) from Rosarno and Andrea Facciolo (22) from Rosarno. Alessandro Laversa (42) from Rizziconi, and Antonio Larosa (45) from Taurianova ended up under house arrest.
The investigation is inspired by some information collected in 2020 by a patrol of the Carabinieri, during an intervention regarding a family dispute: in the circumstance, the carabinieri of the Gioia Tauro company realized that the dispute arose from a debt linked to the drug trafficking. “I'm coming with a beer but no wine.” "If you want to come by, I can give you a beer." These are the encrypted dialogues deciphered by the carabinieri who, thanks to wiretaps and traditional investigative activities, managed to reconstruct numerous episodes of possession and sale of cocaine, marijuana and crack. The investigation by the Palmi Prosecutor's Office has turned a fate on two "drug-dealing squares", one in Rosarno and one in Gioia Tauro. Furthermore, some "safe places" were identified where the suspects kept the drugs in Rizziconi.
With more than one hundred documented drug dealing incidents, the prosecutors found a large turnover of business and customers, managed by subjects believed to be close to the 'Ndrangheta circles who used a series of expedients to avoid checks by the police forces, for example by registering the cell phone cards to foreign citizens or even to non-existent people. It was not the customer who went to the drug dealer, but after having agreed, even by telephone or via social media, the delivery of the drugs took place directly at home.

Furthermore, the Prosecutor's Office charged one of the suspects, Antonio Paladino, with the crime of death as a consequence of another crime since, in 2021, a 56-year-old died after having purchased from him and subsequently taken intravenously, 82.4% pure cocaine.
Finally, during the investigations, a real arsenal ready for use was seized inside an apparently abandoned house. In fact, inside a plastic bucket, well hidden by several layers of cellophane, an Uzi machine gun was found, perfectly oiled and equipped with magazines and bullets, an improvised homemade device and 4 kilos of gunpowder.