When Raffaele Imperiale decided to spill the beans in October 2022, investigators realized they had a key witness, capable of recounting twenty years of cocaine trafficking and billions of euros transiting between Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
Imperiale, the man who had transformed the Neapolitan coast into one of the most sophisticated logistics hubs for global drug trafficking, began to speak. And from his words, the economic heart of the Amato-Pagano clan took shape, the machine that for years had guaranteed an uninterrupted flow of money and power.
The Cafone, the regent and the 250 kilos of cocaine
In his first interrogation, dated 7 October 2022, Imperiale explained that relations with the Amato-Pagano family had been reactivated with the regency of Marco Liguori and that, after his arrest, command had passed to Anthony Pompilio, known as 'o Cafone, his old friend and trusted man.
It was Pompilio himself, Imperiale recounts, who personally managed the distribution of 250 kilos of cocaine, destined for clients in Naples and Campania. A multi-million dollar deal that cemented the link between the Dubai drug lord and the Melito clan.
But Imperiale didn't just supply drugs. His system also ensured financial management: profit reinvestment, profit sharing, and corporate backing.
"He was supposed to give Amato Raffaele ten million euros. Pompilio had between three and four million at home, I still had eighteen million euros." (Raffaele Imperiale minutes of October 7, 2022
A parallel accounting system, as precise as a company's, which operated on multiple levels: hidden cash, cryptocurrencies, front companies and front men in the Emirates.
The encrypted messages and the Calabrians in the middle
Imperiale also recounted his contacts with Pompilio through an encrypted telematics system from a Swiss company, a secure communications platform used only for drug deals. But 'o Cafone wasn't satisfied.
From Dubai, Imperiale said, Pompilio had confided in him that he was also using a new “Calabrese” system, an even more secure software, installed a few days before his arrest.
That detail was no coincidence: the Calabrians he was talking about were direct suppliers of cocaine, and Pompilio had begun negotiating with them to obtain lower prices than Imperiale's.
Imperiale, however, had authorized the move:
“I told him to buy from Lotus too, using the money he owed me. Then he would give me the profit margin.”
A gesture that, in the narcos' logic, was not an act of trust, but of control. Imperiale only gave his associates leeway to keep a close eye on the money flow.
The "young" son-in-law and Amato's legacy
In his subsequent statements, Imperiale reveals another key passage: after the arrest of Amato Raffaele, the reins of the family had fallen into the hands of a series of regents and relatives, until a younger figure appeared, Amato's new son-in-law, engaged to his daughter Maria.
Imperiale described him as an "arrogant and inexperienced" young man who demanded additional payments he didn't deserve. When he asked Pompilio for an explanation, 'o Cafone replied that the young man "had been placed there after the arrests" and that he was "married or engaged to his daughter Maria."
A transfer of power within the family, dictated more by kinship than by criminal charisma, which nevertheless established continuity: the Amatos remained the custodians of the clan's coffers and honor.
An empire in the desert
In subsequent reports, Imperiale revealed that during his stay in Dubai he had left 18 million euros "in cash" to one of his collaborators, Carbone Bruno, who was responsible for managing new clients and maintaining contact with the Amato-Paganos.
When Imperiale was arrested, Carbone took over the reins of the group, along with Corrado Genovesi. Both, according to the documents, turned to Pompilio Antonio to reconnect with the Melito clan after the judicial turmoil.
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Comments (1)
The article highlights the complexities of drug trafficking and how the underlying economy functions. However, there's much more information that could be more informative for the average reader. It's important to analyze these phenomena carefully to understand the social dynamics involved.