Uruguayan arrested in Genoa with 128 kg of cocaine received eight bullets in August
Eros Castellan Airaldo, 32, was arrested in Italy with criminal records in Uruguay and links to Nacional's ultras group.
Detained in Genoa: the Uruguayan who survived eight bullets and ended up in a drugs operation in Italy
Eros Nicola Castellan Airaldo, a 32-year-old Uruguayan, was detained on Tuesday 6 October at the port of Prá in Genoa in an operation by the Guardia di Finanza in which 128 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized, distributed in 119 bricks inside a container. Three other people were arrested alongside him. According to telenoche.com.uy, Castellan Airaldo has several criminal records in Uruguay but had no active arrest warrant in the country at the time of his detention.
Police sources consulted by the outlet noted that the man was linked to Club Nacional de Football's ultras group, specifically to a faction called the "Banda del Alan".
Just two months before the operation, on 15 August, Castellan Airaldo had suffered an armed attack in the Ituzaingó neighbourhood of Montevideo: he was struck by eight bullets and was hospitalised in grave condition. He managed to recover.
Before Italian Justice, the detainee stated that the drug was not his property and that his role was limited to overseeing part of the operation at the port to remove the merchandise from the container. He claimed that a week earlier he was in Uruguay when he received a call from a man he had met during a period in prison, who told him to travel to Italy, where he would receive instructions.
According to his account, he was promised US$10,000 for the work, although he claimed never to have received it. He also denied having participated in loading or unloading the drugs.
Italian Justice ruled that Castellan Airaldo and the other three detainees should remain in preventive custody during the course of the investigation.
As for his antecedents in Uruguay, he has cases for possession of narcotics not intended for personal consumption and domestic arms trafficking, in addition to investigations for theft and robbery, according to police sources.
Source: Google News UY — Crime