Naples – A GPS tracker was hidden inside a refrigerator branded "Coca-Cola" to monitor, step by step, a shipment of drugs that left Barcelona and arrived at a warehouse on Via Mario Pilati, in Ponticelli.
This is one of the details that emerged from the operation by the Naples Flying Squad that led to the seizure of approximately 43 kilos of marijuana and the arrest of three people.
Arrested were Roberto Pinto, 31, previously believed to be close to Alessandro Giannelli (the boss of the Cavalleggeri d'Aosta area) and now identified as having ties to the Cutolo clan in the Traiano district; Massimo De Martino, 52, a resident of Via Oronzio Costa; and Marco Scognamiglio, 39, from San Giorgio a Cremano.
The three, all with specific police records, are accused of illicit possession of narcotics for the purpose of dealing.
The raid was launched on Thursday morning following a tip-off received in the previous days from a confidential source, who reportedly provided information not only on the modus operandi, but also on the delivery date.
The Flying Falcons responded to the scene: De Martino was found with a packing slip for a 300-kilogram package from Barcelona and a key. Inside his car, officers later found 41 bags of marijuana, weighing approximately 43 kilos.
During searches of the warehouse, the police found a drinks dispenser with Spanish writing on it on a shelf: the drugs, according to investigators, were hidden inside the machine.
Scognamiglio was found with €8.800 in cash, while Pinto had €1.500 in banknotes of various denominations on him.
A further piece of information emerged from the search of the 31-year-old: in Pinto's pockets, the officers found the key to the refrigerator compartment and a GPS device that, according to the investigation, had been attached to the cargo until a few minutes earlier (a circumstance confirmed by the tape still present). Scognamiglio, on the other hand, is believed to have physically supervised the transport.
Immediate investigations also revealed that one of the two phones seized from Pinto had an app connected to a tag (AirTag) installed, which would have monitored the entire journey of the shipment from Spain to Naples. The three suspects were transferred to Poggioreale prison pending a validation hearing: Pinto is being represented by the lawyer Antonio Abet, and De Martino by the lawyer Andrea Lucchetta.
Investigations are continuing to determine the drug's origin and final destination. Investigators believe the marijuana was destined for drug dealing hubs in Area 44, in the Traiano district.
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Comments (1)
This news story concerns a police operation that led to the seizure of marijuana. It's interesting to see how criminals use modern technology, but the current drug situation in our society and its consequences are also concerning.