At the first light of dawn, the staff of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate and the Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Monza, with the support of the Central Investigation Unit of the Penitentiary Police, executed, on the delegation of the DDA of Milan, an order for the application of personal precautionary measures against eighteen subjects (seven in prison, four under house arrest, three with the obligation to stay and four with the obligation to report to the judicial police), investigated, in various capacities, for criminal association aimed at trafficking in narcotic substances , extortion and the commission of numerous economic-financial crimes, the proceeds of which were intended to facilitate the activities of the 'Ndrangheta and in particular of the MORABITO – PALAMARA – BRUZZANITI gang.
The investigation, which began in 2019 and continued into the pandemic period, involved 68 subjects, divided into two criminal associations which, although "operationally separated by subject matter" (on the one hand the commission of economic crimes - financial, on the other, drug trafficking and extortion), were both directed by a Calabrian doctor, collaborator of some Milanese RSAs, already definitively convicted of drug trafficking and, above all, son of the historic head of the aforementioned gang , currently detained under the 41-year regimeup to following an irrevocable conviction for mafia association.
The first of the two groups, which saw the participation of professionals and entrepreneurs, owners of various consultancy companies in the center of Milan and bearers of the necessary technical-legal "Know how", was dedicated to the commission of the following economic-financial crimes:
- the creation of a system of "paper mill" companies, effectively non-operational and solely dedicated to issuing false invoices, aimed at providing "paper cover" for non-existent purchases of goods and services, with the sole purpose of creating, favor of third party customers, the availability of large sums of cash “under the table”. The latter, in fact, in return for the bank transfer made to pay the false invoice, obtained, at the end of various "steps" involving "online" current accounts rooted in European and non-EU banks, large sums of money, thus removed from any form of control and monitoring by the Authorities. During the investigative activities, it was possible to seize approximately 50.000 euros in cash, proceeds of the aforementioned FOI, as well as reconstruct other cash deliveries managed by the organization;
- the creation and sale of false guarantee policies, formally issued by one of the largest national banking groups, in favor of businesses and individual firms who would never have legally obtained them, as they lacked the necessary financial solidity and/or the necessary integrity requirements . In particular, these "false" policies served the knowing buyer to guarantee, towards unaware "third parties", compliance with obligations deriving from reciprocal contractual relationships. In one case, the false guarantees were created in favor of companies operating in the gaming and betting sector (which would never have been able to obtain them legally, as they were affected by an anti-mafia interdiction issued at the end of investigations also concerning the crime of mafia association), for the purpose of guaranteeing the fulfillment of the economic obligations resulting from the contract stipulated with the State concessionaire;
- the marketing of false "Research & Development" tax credits transferred to third-party companies who, aware of their fictitious nature, used them to offset the payment of taxes and social security contributions. These credits were created by another criminal organization based in the province of Naples and made up of professionals (accountants, experts and engineers), some of whom had already been convicted of a similar crime;
- the organization of aggravated scams to the detriment of the State, aimed at obtaining financing and disbursements envisaged by the COVID 19 regulations. The investigations have, on the one hand, ascertained the actual perception of these sums, on the other avoided, through the timely activation of the competent authorities, the undue provision of sums and economic benefits (in the form of guaranteed financing and tax credit) for about 2 million euro, for which the required, artfully prepared documentation had already been filed. In one of these cases, precisely to exploit a specific rule aimed at encouraging the capitalization of companies during the pandemic period, fictitious increases in share capital were created through counterfeit financial statements, using, also thanks to the complacency of experts and public officials, foreign securities of doubtful and uncertain value and having technical characteristics different from those envisaged by the
The organization would have reinvested the proceeds of the crimes indicated above and in particular those committed to the detriment of the State, in the creation, together with other subjects also suspected of belonging to the 'Ndrangheta, of new commercial companies that would have operated in sectors such as construction - taking advantage of the benefits of the ECOBONUS -, waste collection and recycling, fuel trading and large-scale distribution.
The second of the two criminal groups was responsible for several crimes of importation, purchase, transport and sale on the market of Northern Italy (Milan, Turin and other provinces) and in Calabria, of hundreds of kilos of narcotic substances (cocaine, heroin, marijuana and hashish) as well as managing a debt collection business using the typical methods used by mafia organisations, also resorting, when necessary, to the use of weapons.
For this purpose, the association had:
- logistical and operational bases, where associates could meet and store the narcotic, such as a warehouse in Paderno Dugnano;
- mobile phones, registered to third parties, changed frequently and used for communications relating to the illicit activity;
- cars used to transport the narcotic, often specifically rented for this purpose or made available by one of the suspects.
The investigation also made it possible to reconstruct the foreign supply channels and, on the occasion of one of the intercepted supplies, it was possible to arrest the courier red-handed and seize 5 kilograms of heroin, initially intended for the Calabrian market. Countless transactions of narcotics have been documented, for a total of 50kg of heroin, 150kg marijuana it's about 50 kg of hashish, also coming from Spain, Austria and Albania and the opening of a sales channel for cocaine coming from Peru and Brazil and destined for members of a well-known 'ndrangheta family was also verified.
Searches are still underway in the provinces of Milan, Monza Brianza, Pavia, Varese, Novara, Alessandria, Messina and Foggia, in homes and businesses resulting in the availability of the subjects involved, also with the support of anti-currency dog units of the Guardia di Finance.
