Ostuni, large-scale anti-drugs operation: 25 arrested including a man from Fasano
The State Police of Brindisi have dismantled two criminal organisations that were trafficking cocaine, hashish and marijuana in the city of Ostuni. Twenty-five people have been arrested, with seizures totalling over 5 kg of drugs.
State Police operation against drug trafficking in Ostuni
According to gofasano.com, the State Police of Brindisi executed a custodial order issued this morning by the Judge for Preliminary Investigations of Lecce against 25 individuals. Twenty-four of them were remanded in custody in prison, one to house arrest. Among those arrested is also a man from Fasano.
The suspects are believed to belong to two separate associations aimed at trafficking cocaine, hashish and marijuana. According to the order, the organisations were armed, operated using mafia methods and were fully operational in the city of Ostuni. The operation was coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Lecce.
Criminal structures and their activities
The investigations revealed the operations of two criminal organisations whose leaders maintained relationships with each other that were long-standing and embedded within the context of organised crime. The first group was headed by two brothers. One of them in particular was characterised by significant criminal standing. The two pursued the objective of expanding the volume of business linked to drug trafficking by acquiring control of dealing points in the city, entering into conflict with other individuals operating in the same illicit sector.
The brothers ran a well-structured organisation with deep roots in the territory, characterised by a vast network of individuals engaged in committing drug-related offences. In addition to trafficking, they perpetrated other particularly alarming crimes such as vehicle fires and punitive expeditions, intended to consolidate their power over the territory. The second criminal organisation was traceable to a married couple known in criminal circles in the province of Brindisi, in contact with individuals embedded in contexts connected to organised crime.
Modus operandi and acts of violence
The investigative activity established that the suspects pursued the criminal plan using intimidatory and violent methods, evocative of the intimidatory force typical of mafia operations, against those who did not comply with the group's illicit objectives. Several arson episodes serve as direct evidence, and the suspects were found to be capable of arming themselves when necessary and carrying out demonstrative actions whenever it was necessary to re-establish control of dealing points.
The investigators attributed specific responsibilities to some of the suspects regarding arson attacks on vehicles and buildings, some attempted and others carried out. Significantly, two arson episodes targeted lawyers, in one case with the stated purpose of causing an individual to abandon his legal representation after that person, following arrest for possession of 2 kilogrammes of cocaine, had decided to make statements useful to the investigation.
The inquiry and seizures
The inquiry was initiated in 2022 by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Brindisi through the Public Security Commissariat of Ostuni. It was subsequently pursued by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Lecce in collaboration with the Prosecutor's Office of Brindisi, and delegated to the Mobile Squad of Brindisi. The operation was carried out by personnel from the Mobile Squad of Brindisi, the Commissariat of Ostuni and with the collaboration of the Commissariat of Mesagne, as well as with the support of the Scientific Police, Crime Prevention Units, Canine Units, Explosives Experts and Sharpshooters of the Border Police of Brindisi and an operational unit of the Flight Department of Bari, with a total deployment of 150 officers.
During the inquiry, eight individuals were arrested in flagrante delicto and significant quantities of drugs were seized: 2.7 kilogrammes of cocaine, 2.1 kilogrammes of hashish and 350 grammes of marijuana. The investigative work was conducted predominantly through wiretap interceptions, as well as with the aid of video surveillance systems and GPS locators, supplemented by a series of traditional activities such as surveillance and stakeouts that provided objective corroboration.
Those arrested
Imprisoned were Donato Greco, Antonio Greco, Maria Loparco, Fabio Giuseppe Farina, Francesco Farina, Christian Cavallo, Angelo Vincenti, Franco Marsico, Oscar Marsico, Mattia Greco, Giacomo Antico, Alessio Palmisano, Admir Tahiraj, Ergys Kastrati, Donato Ruggieri, Michele Tangorra, Mino Morrone, Matteo Cavallo, Nicola Campanella and Maurizio Prudentino. To their responsibilities are added episodes of extortion aimed at recovering sums of money traceable to the sale of narcotic substances carried out by the organisation's dealers.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)