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 Größte Drogenfunde der Welt infographic
Grafik zeigt die größten Drogenfunde der Welt.
GN44186DE

DROGEN

Italiens Rekord Drogenfund

By Duncan Mil

April 18, 2023 - Italiens Polizei konnte zwei Tonnen Kokain mit einem Verkaufswert von $483 Millionen sicherstellen. Die Pakete schwammen im Wasser vor der Küste von Sizilien. Die‘Ndrangheta mit Sitz in Kalabrien kontrolliert den italienischen Drogenhandel.

The Financial Police found the drugs wrapped in 70 waterproof packages held together by nets and kept afloat by life preservers. They said they’d also found a tracking device attached to the packages in Sicily’s Golfo di Catania on Monday (April 17).

An aerial patrol spotted the packages. Police suspect the cocaine was left at sea by a cargo ship for subsequent retrieval and transportation to the mainland by a criminal organization.

The Cosa Nostra syndicate has long dominated organized crime on the island of Sicily.

In January, Italian authorities arrested the group’s “last godfather,” 60-year-old Matteo Messina Denaro, after a three-decade search.

Today, the drug trade in Italy, and much of Europe, is dominated by the ‘Ndrangheta crime group. The syndicate’s hold on the Italian port of Gioia Tauro lets it feed off some of the most profitable drug routes between Europe and the Americas.

The European law enforcement agency Europol has identified ‘Ndrangheta as one of the “most threatening” organized crime groups on the planet due to its “enormous financial might” and “immense corruptive power.”

Made up of a sprawling network of ‘ndrina, or clans, rooted in Calabria on the Italian mainland near Sicily, the syndicate earns an estimated $60 billion annually -- roughly equivalent to the GDP of Croatia.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 18/04/2023; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Guardia di Finanz
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