The criminal gang that trafficked drugs from Latin America is 'dismantled'/Albanians are among those arrested

2023-09-11 12:41:00, Aktualitet CNA

The criminal gang that trafficked drugs from Latin America is

In the early hours of the morning, an extensive anti-drug operation was completed at the provincial headquarters of the Guardia di Finanza of Savona and Genoa, culminating in the arrest of seventeen people. Of those arrested, 13 are Italians and 4 are Albanians, reports savonanews .

According to preliminary investigations, ten of those arrested were part of a criminal organization active since July 2019 in the province of Savona. The association specialized in buying, importing (mainly from South America), transporting, keeping and selling cocaine and hashish. They had special warehouses, "double-ended" cars for transportation, and used encrypted cell phones for communication, some of them even from inside prisons, to transmit messages and strategies. One of the arrested was the bearer of messages intended to dissuade the other arrested accomplices from cooperating with justice.

The Guardia di Finanza found that the group also provided recovery and distribution services for drug shipments to other criminal organizations, using the port of Vado Ligure as the main landing and distribution point. In addition, they guaranteed payment of legal fees for arrested members and supported their families.

One of the most surprising aspects of the investigation concerns cooperation within the port. An employee of a cargo and parcel transport company, who was completely unrelated to the events of the investigation, with the duty of a crane operator, provided crucial details about the location of the containers of cocaine. This information allowed the organization to facilitate the recovery of the drug. In addition, a foreign fugitive, Mario Palamara, has facilitated the shipment of significant quantities of cocaine from South America to the port of Vado Ligure.

The police also discovered that the association had taken action to start a business importing fruit from South America, using it as a cover for the shipment of cocaine (in particular 84 blocks of which 69 were found inside a refrigerated container in March 2020).

Në përgjithësi, të arrestuarit akuzohen për 42 episode të blerjes, posedimit, transferimit dhe importimit të kokainës (më shumë se 180 kg), hashashit (më shumë se 40 kg), marijuanës (më shumë se 70 kg) dhe tentativës për të importuar 200 kg shtesë. kokainë dhe 300 kg hashash.

Operacioni "Baluardo" filloi pas konfiskimeve të shumta midis viteve 2019 dhe 2020, në total mbi 180 kg kokainë në aeroportin Vadese. Hetimet u kryen përmes analizës së kamerave të vëzhgimit të portit dhe përgjimeve të komunikimeve, përfshirë ato në platforma të koduara si Encrochat dhe SkyEcc./ CNA