Fascinating reading and an illustration that the war on drugs in a construct that will keep failing until it dies. All it does is perpetuate misery and violence.
‘Armed and Dangerous’: Inside the ’Ndrangheta’s Intercontinental Cocaine Pipeline
In the first part of this investigation, we explored how the ’Ndrangheta syndicate moved cocaine across Europe. Now, we examine their pipeline through Latin America and Africa, showing how the highly-connected Giuseppe Romeo moved drugs through corruption-plagued ports to Antwerp, Rotterdam, and beyond.
Key Findings
- The son of a leading figure in the feared ’Ndrangheta’s Romeo-Staccu clan, Giuseppe Romeo built his own cocaine empire after his father was jailed for 30 years.
- Known as “Maluferru,” he sourced drugs in Colombia and Brazil, had them shipped to West Africa, and then oversaw their collection on the docks of Europe.
- Maluferru used his connections among the dozens of ‘Ndrangheta clans in San Luca, a small town in Italy’s boot that is the birthplace of the feared criminal gang.
- In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Maluferru’s gang allegedly relied on corrupt officials — and emissaries sent all the way from Italy — to facilitate their operations.
In his younger years, the Italian drug trafficker Giuseppe Romeo, known as “Maluferru,” was fascinated with Mexican narcos.
In particular, police sources familiar with the trafficker say, he admired Los Zetas, the hyper-violent cartel known for beheadings, bombings, and brazen attacks on Mexican government troops.
Read the full article at https://www.occrp.org/en/ndrangheta/armed-and-dangerous-inside-the-ndranghetas-intercontinental-cocaine-pipeline
What is the ‘Ndrangheta?
- What is the ‘Ndrangheta
- Where did the ‘Ndrangheta come from?
- How is the ‘Ndrangheta structured?
- What do the ‘Ndrangheta’s operations look like?
- Can the ‘Ndrangheta be stopped?
What is the ‘Ndrangheta?
Once seen as a less organized version of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the ‘Ndrangheta has risen to become not only Italy’s most powerful mafia but also one of the largest and most sophisticated criminal organizations in the world.
Made up of a sprawling network of ‘ndrina, or clans, rooted in Calabria at the toe of boot-shaped Italy, the syndicate is believed to rake in as much as US$60 billion annually — roughly equivalent to the GDP of Croatia.
The group’s interests run the spectrum of economic activity, from outwardly legal enterprises in construction, green energy, and waste management to criminal schemes involving fraud, extortion, high-level corruption, and trafficking in humans and weapons.
However, academic studies have suggested that drugs are the ‘Ndrangheta’s biggest earner, with the group controlling some of the world’s most lucrative trafficking routes.
According to an estimate by Italy’s parliament, the organization may dominate more than 80 percent of the European cocaine trade, and its operatives have been detected at major ports on nearly every continent.
’Ndranghetisti have also long been known as skilled money launderers, navigating the global financial system with ease and using complex ownership structures and financial secrecy laws to conceal the origins of their wealth.
More at https://www.occrp.org/en/ndrangheta/what-is-the-ndrangheta
