Naples - A surgical operation by the Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri of Naples has dismantled the top brass of a fierce drug trafficking organization that ran a lucrative drug route between Campania and Spain.
At the heart of the investigation, which has sixteen suspects in total, is the arrest of five key figures, most notably Mario Cardillo, considered by investigators and the Naples Prosecutor's Office to be the undisputed leader of the criminal gang.
The "Boss" Trick on Flights to Malaga
Cardillo, a drug broker with a marked propensity for evading controls, had developed a singular stratagem for his frequent air trips to Spain, a key supply hub (especially from Malaga and Barcelona).
To purchase tickets, the boss used minor variations of his legal name: from "Ciardillo" to "Curdillo" and finally "Cardullo." A clever move, but not enough to escape the investigation's tight grip.
The logistics of the crime and the bizarre hideout
The organization relied on a logistics company Based in Giugliano in Campania, the company was formally registered to a front man who was paid a "compensation" of €200 per month for the fictitious registration. The operational management of the cover was carried out by Antonio Mallardo and Brazilian citizen Dreyck Gusmao de Azevedo, both close associates of Cardillo.
The method of concealing the drug was as ingenious as it was daring: the cocaine, shipped from Spain, was hidden inside office desk drawers.
Once they reached their destination, they were stored before being released onto the drug market. A curious detail revealed by the investigation is that some of these drawers, emptied of their illicit contents, were subsequently resold as used on a Facebook group, thus combining drug trafficking with the online trade in second-hand furniture.
In addition to capo Cardillo, the Naples investigating judge has also ordered the pre-trial detention of Vincenzo Marigliano, Giovanni Risi, and the aforementioned Mallardo and de Azevedo. This operation represents a devastating blow to the international drug routes operated by the Campanian criminal underworld, particularly those in the Giugliano area.
