DRUGS International drug trafficking: couriers also arrested in Puglia
19 arrests, seizure of 34 million

AUTHOR:
Editorial board

PUBLISHED ON:
November 16, 2023
NEWS // FOREGROUND //
BARI – A criminal association based in Veneto was dismantled by the yellow flames. 420 kg of drugs from Albania and Holland seized . Assets and money worth around 2 million euros were seized. 1 7 couriers arrested in various Italian regions.

The story

In the early hours of today, 16 November, on behalf of the District Attorney's Office of Venice, soldiers from the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Padua and the Central Investigation Service on Organized Crime (SClCO), with the help of canine units, two helicopters and other departments of the Corps, for a total of over 100 people employed, have implemented two orders of the Judge for preliminary investigations. Respectively, the application of personal precautionary measures was ordered against 19 subjects (14 in prison and 5 under house arrest, of which one resident in Germany), all under investigation for the crime of criminal association aimed at illicit trafficking of narcotic substances, and the seizure of assets worth approximately one million euros.

The measure of house arrest on German territory was carried out through the issuing of a European Arrest Warrant by the Venice Public Prosecutor's Office, which made use of the collaboration of Eurojust for contacts with the collateral body. Furthermore, three of the suspects, who at the time of the execution were in Albanian territory, were arrested by the police forces of that country, activated by the International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP), also through the Office of 'Security expert in Albania, following research ordered by the Ministry of Justice for the purposes of their subsequent extradition to Italy. At the same time, numerous searches are being carried out in the provinces of Treviso, Venice, Monza Brianza and Ravenna.

Furthermore, during the investigations, significant elements of corroboration to the circumstantial evidence of the interceptions were acquired, which led to the arrest of 17 couriers (in the provinces of Ancona, Arezzo, Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Modena, Novara, Ravenna, Udine, Venice and Verona) and the seizure of cocaine, heroin, hashish and marijuana, for over 420 kilograms, with an estimated retail value of over 34 million euros, and cash for almost one million.

Without prejudice to the presumption of innocence, at the end of the investigative activity, still in the preliminary investigation phase, 65 subjects were currently registered in the register of suspects, mainly of Albanian and Italian nationality, believed, in various capacities, to be involved in the illicit trafficking of narcotic substances coming from Holland, through Germany, and from Albania, to be destined for the national territory.

According to the accusatory hypothesis, an Albanian resident in Ponte di Piave (IV) is considered the promoter of the criminal association. The investigations of the Fiamme Gialle of Padua, carried out under the direction of the District Attorney's Office of Venice, originate from the arrest of an Albanian man and an Italian woman, stopped in Padua in January 2020, and from the seizure of 2 kilos of heroin found in the car in use for them. The subsequent investigations, developed on the basis of the analysis of the telephone records of the subjects suspected of being close to the aforementioned arrested persons and of numerous observation and shadowing services, made it possible to reconstruct the drug trafficking chain, ascertaining their origin from Albanian subjects settled in Veneto , in turn able to supply large quantities from Albania and Holland.

The investigations, which continued with environmental and telephone interceptions, the installation of numerous cameras and electronic positioning tracking systems, made it possible to acquire elements of responsibility towards Albanian subjects, operating between the provinces of Treviso, Venice and Padua, and who would be dedicated to the supply and distribution of significant quantities of drugs throughout the national territory.

Furthermore, during the investigative activities numerous couriers were identified, transporting cash and drugs in double floors built inside the vehicles used, shuttling between Italy, Albania and Germany, and two logistics bases in the Municipalities of Eraclea (VE). and Musile di Piave (VE), used for storage of imported narcotic substances.

The same organization also made use of encrypted mobile phones of Albanian origin, equipped with the "MATRIX" instant messaging system and used to take care of the logistics and movement of large quantities of drugs. The encryption keys of this communication system did not allow intercepting conversations between users, who were equipped with special codes for possible contacts. Precisely through the aforementioned platform the association would have been able to manage, in a secure manner, the orders received from customers, also located in regions of southern Italy (Puglia, Calabria and Lazio), and search for drivers willing to make deliveries, employing cars with special cavities accessible via sophisticated electronic devices.

The Venice Public Prosecutor's Office has also ordered asset investigations, which have made it possible to identify the assets attributable to the main suspects, for an estimated value of approximately one million euros, including a Swiss hemp production and cultivation company, formally registered in the name of his wife. of the dominus of the association. To which are added 7 properties and several valuable cars, which were subjected to preventive seizure.