Anti-drug and anti-mafia operation in Prato: 40 arrests, 60 million seized
An investigation by the Florence District Anti-Mafia Directorate has led to the execution of dozens of restrictive measures in Tuscany and abroad. Italians and foreign nationals are involved.
Anti-drug and anti-mafia operation in Prato: 40 arrests, 60 million seized
An unprecedented operation was launched at dawn this morning in the Prato area. Officers from the Central Operations Service and the Mobile Unit, led by the Florence District Anti-Mafia Directorate, executed more than forty custody orders. Around 150 operators were deployed, including with the support of an aerial vehicle.
The recipients of the measures are men and women of Italian and foreign nationality, believed to belong to a criminal association engaged in the international trafficking of drugs, money laundering and clandestine transportation of Chinese citizens. The charges formulated by magistrates amount to 130.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 17 people sent to prison, 16 placed under house arrest and 8 required to present themselves daily to investigators. The orders extended beyond regional boundaries, affecting mainly Prato, Pistoia and Pisa, but also a foreign country: a measure was executed in Spain with the cooperation of Europol and local police forces.
In parallel, the public prosecution office ordered the preventive seizure of assets and financial resources totalling more than 60 million euros, with direct and equivalent confiscation. During the course of the investigation, the existence of a quasi-banking structure with logistical headquarters in the Prato area also emerged, used also by external criminal groups.
Source: News from Prato
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)