Salerno. Record seizure of amphetamines in the port of Salerno: 14 tons of pills worth one billion euros were blocked by the men of the Gico of the Guardia di Finanza, in an operation coordinated by the DDA of Naples. The synthetic drug was destined for a cartel of Camorra clans to supply all of Europe.
SThis is the largest seizure of amphetamines in the world, carried out pursuant to a specific decree issued by the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office - DDA and resulting from a complex investigative activity delegated to the GICO against an organization with international projections dedicated to the importation of large quantities of narcotic substances.
After the lockdown period, due to the coronavirus health emergency, counter-terrorism activities in the specific sector have been intensified. From the development of the clues that emerged during the investigation and in particular from other seizures carried out previously, the financial police have traced 3 suspicious containers arriving at the port of Salerno, containing paper cylinders for industrial use and machinery. After the seizure, the Guardia di Finanza transferred the containers to a place equipped to proceed with the internal inspection, with the help of specialized technicians and with the valuable collaboration of the Anti-fraud Section of the Customs Agency of Salerno.
The paper cylinders, approximately 2 metres high and 140 cm in diameter – presumably built in Germany – were made of multiple layers capable of concealing from the scanner the contents, stored in the internal layers, of approximately 350 kg of pills for each cylinder.
A total of 14 tons of amphetamines were found, approximately 84 million pills, bearing the symbol of the “captagon” that distinguishes the “drug of Jihad”. It is known in fact that Isis/Daesh finances its terrorist activities also and above all with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, produced largely in Syria, which for this reason has become in recent years the world's leading producer of amphetamines.
Captagon is sold throughout the Middle East and is popular among fighters to inhibit fear and pain, as well as among civilians because it reduces fatigue. Initially produced mainly in Lebanon and widespread in Saudi Arabia in the 90s, this narcotic substance has reappeared in terrorist hideouts – such as in the 2015 attack on the Bataclan in Paris – and has therefore been nicknamed the “ISIS drug” or the “Jihad drug”.
According to the American DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), ISIS uses it extensively in all the territories where it exercises influence and controls its distribution. Once the chemical production plants are up and running, it is easy for ISIS to produce large quantities also for the global synthetic drug market, in order to quickly accumulate huge amounts of funding.
Already two weeks ago, again in the port of Salerno, the specialists of the Organized Crime Investigation Group (GICO) of the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Naples, had intercepted a container with a cover load consisting of counterfeit clothing, containing 2.800 kg of hashish and 190 kg of amphetamines (over 1 million pills) with the exact same symbol (captagon).
As for the final destination, it is likely that a “consortium” of criminal groups is involved, both for the total value of the shipments and for the distribution on the reference markets (85 million pills can satisfy a European-wide market). The hypothesis is that during the lockdown, due to the global health emergency, the production and distribution of synthetic drugs in Europe practically stopped and therefore, upon resumption, many traffickers, even in consortiums, turned to Syria, whose production does not appear to have slowed down.
Further investigations are underway to identify those responsible who, precisely in relation to the large quantity seized, could be operating on behalf of a "cartel" of Camorra clans capable of marketing the substances internationally.
Article published on 1 July 2020 - 07:52
