Two groups, working “in perfect synergy”, had divided the illicit management of the port of Cariati.
They bought fish wholesale from local fishermen at prices set by the members of the Cirotan clans themselves and resold it “at increased prices both to restaurateurs and traders in Calabria, and to wholesale traders in Sicily, Campania, Lazio and Greece; and also imposing on fishermen the supply of bait, ice and boxes”.
This is what emerged from the investigation by the Catanzaro DDA – coordinated by prosecutors Domenico Guarascio, Paolo Sirleo and Pasquale Mandolfino – which this morning led to 31 arrests. The abuses occurred “without the local fishermen being able to oppose them in any way.
And indeed, those who tried to resist were victims of retaliatory acts,” is written in the investigation documents.
A fisherman had suffered a fire and his colleague said that “probably the damage could have been due to the fact that, as usually happens in our environment, some well-known individuals in our community, who go to the various fishermen every day demanding tens of kilos of the best catch, do not take into account either the market value of the product or the customary agreements between the fisherman and the trusted fishmonger, relationships that have existed in some cases for years and years”.
Article published on 16 February 2023 - 17:40
Video Chronicles
