Criminal organizations that had been using a Rome migrant center as a drug depot have been dismantled after an operation that led to the arrest of 27 people in Italy, Albania, and Spain, say Italian police.
Two organizations that had been importing large quantities of marijuana from Albania and using a Rome migrant center as a depot have been dismantled, it was announced on Wednesday (February 19).
The cross-border counter-narcotics operation led to the arrest of 27 individuals in Italy, Albania, and Spain.
A migrant center in the Italian capital was being used as a drug depot as well as for the recruitment of Nigerian migrants with temporary stay permits, police say.
A total of 27 people were arrested on charges of criminal association for the purpose of drug trafficking, transfer and possession for the purpose of selling (drugs), extortion, carrying weapons, participation in fraudulent registration of assets through misleading public officials.
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Detention and house arrest
The measure, which provides for the detention of 20 people and house arrest for seven others, originates from a 2018 investigation by the carabinieri of Rome's upscale Parioli neighborhood assisted by the counter-narcotics central services, which documented that a group of people, with Albanian origin, was importing large quantities of marijuana directly from Albania that was later sorted with the assistance of gangs made up of people with Nigerian origins at both the European and national levels through a system that had been tested over a significant period of time.
The investigators established that drug runners departed from the Tibus bus station next to Rome's Tiburtina station with coaches belonging to private bus companies that were unaware of the situation. Some of these buses had foreign destinations.
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Nigerian and Albanian criminal organizations
The investigation found that the two criminal organizations had different roles: the Nigerian one was involved in sourcing and procuring large quantities of marijuana, distributing it across both national and European territory, while the Albanian group imported large quantities of drugs from their country of origin.
The drugs entered Italy on powerful sea vessels that landed on the coasts of the Puglia region in southern Italy and were later taken to the capital through a 'relay' mechanism in rented vehicles.
The groups may also have had weapons of war at their disposal. A total of 147 arrests were made in flagrante delicto for drug selling, with 900 kilos of marijuana and 90,000 euros in cash seized.