Italian
and American authorities said Tuesday, February 11th, 2014, that they have broken up a new heroin and
cocaine trafficking drug ring coordinated by Italy’s powerful ‘Ndrangheta’
organized crime syndicate and New York’s famous Gambino mafia crime
family. Seventeen individuals were
placed under arrest in Italy and another seven were arrested in New York,
officials said.
The
investigation just highlighted how ‘Ndrangheta’ is spreading its influence and
operations beyond the borders of Italy, as it coordinates its position as one
of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organizations. It also underscored how ‘Ndrangheta’ that is
based in the Southern region of Calabria, is
now encroaching on territory which was once occupied by the
Sicilian-based Cosa Nostra, since the Gambino’s were in the Sicilian mafia’s
American branch.
The
anti-mafia Italian police stated the “New Bridge” operation targeted a new
cocaine trafficking route via South America to the Southern Italian port of
Gioia Tauro which united the Gambino’s with the ‘Ndrangheta.” In exchange, the
Italians were to traffic their heroin directly into the United States market.
The aim
of the Italian and American mafia alliance was to “build a bridge of
criminality and corruption to stretch from South America to Italy and back to
New York,” stated Marshall Miller, a top prosecutor in the United States
Attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
Through
the use of wiretaps and an undercover agent called “Jimmy” who infiltrated the
NY mob, officials say they have thwarted the delivery to Italy of some 500
kilograms of pure cocaine. The shipment
was to have been hidden among canned coconuts and pineapples on its way from
Guyana to Gioia Tauro, in Northern Italy.
Raffaele
Grassi, head of the Italian police’s central operative service unit stated,
“The ‘Ndrangheta’ can and has to be considered one of the most powerful
organizations in the world for handling international drug trafficking. The ‘Ndrangheta’
has left its territory of origin; beyond occupying areas of our country and
infiltrating itself in Northern Italy, the ‘Ndrangheta’ is looking for
criminals beyond the border, invading new markets to make profit.”
The FBI
worked with the Italian police in Italy and vice versa, and Miller and other
officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn were on hand in Rome for
the press conference announcing the information about the arrests. The Italian suspects have been accused of
mafia association and drug trafficking, along with various other charges. Miller stated one of the American based
suspects was accused of money laundering through a Brooklyn based bank and that
several hundred thousand dollars was also seized during the investigation.
There
are many reasons why we, at the California Addiction Network are ecstatic about
this revelation, because any drugs removed from the streets are a good
thing. We ask you to please consider
right now, if your drug abuse has escalated to the point of becoming uncontrollable
and if so, you should contact us right now without delay, because your entire
future and life are on the line.
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