Trieste, 7 June 2022 – One of the most impressive drug seizures never occurred in Europe. There Guardia di Finanza of Trieste this morning kicked off an operation that led to the seizure of 4.3 net tons of cocaine. The estimate on the price paid for this huge quantity of drug is around 96 million euros. The quantity on the Italian market, in retail sales, would have brought the sales value to 240 million euros.
In maxi operationin addition to various vehicles, including pulls and SUVs worth 100 thousand euros, were also seized 1.8 million euros in cash: financial and patrimonial resources stolen from the availability of aggressive criminal organizations thanks to work of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Financial Police of Trieste, coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate.
In parallel with the drug seizure operations, this morning 60 financiers are also carrying out an ordinance of pre-trial detention in prison against 38 people in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Colombia, all accused of international drug trafficking. After the extradition to the United States of ‘Othniel’to the century Dario Antonio Usuga Davidhead of the feared and powerful criminal organization of the ‘Gulf Clan’, today’s operation deals another blow to the most important group of Colombian narcos.
The investigations, which continued for more than a year and began with the cooperation of the Colombian judiciary and police, with the US Homeland Security Investigations Agency, have reconstructed the dense network of relationships between South American cocaine producers and buyers in Italy and Europebelonging to well-known organized crime contexts operating in Veneto, Lombardy, Lazio e Calabria. Important brokers and wholesalers and various transport workers were identified, all subject to the restrictive measures. ‘Undercover’ agents were employed, who infiltrated the organization by pretending to manage the logistical part of the traffic. The collection of evidence was made possible through 19 consecutive ‘controlled deliveries’, developed between May 2021 and May 2022, thanks to which important mediators in the world drug trafficking system and a large number of carriers operating in Italy and all over the world were identified. ‘abroad.