Drugs from South America at the port of Salerno for ‘Ndrangheta: 15 arrests

This morning, at the end of a detailed investigation coordinated by the magistrates of the Public Prosecutor’s Office – District Anti-Mafia Directorate – of Salernothe Personal Cautionary Order issued by the GIP Office of the Court of Salerno against 15 subjects held, in various capacities, responsible for criminal conspiracy aimed at trafficking, including transnational, of narcotic substances such as cocaine and marijuana, theft, receiving stolen goods and threats.

The investigative activity conducted by the Special Operational Group of the Carabinieri – Anti-Crime Section of Salerno has made it possible to reconstruct, according to the accusatory hypothesis shared by the judge for preliminary investigations, a criminal association composed mainly of subjects of Campania origin in relations with members of the ‘Ndrangheta gangs of the Alvaro di Sinopoli. According to the accusatory approach, the central element of the group would be represented by Carmine Ferrara who would have acted as an intermediary between foreign drug traffickers and organizations operating on the national territory.

220 kilos of cocaine

During the investigations it was clarified that the port of Salerno has become a national hub for the importation of drugs from South America. In fact, the Carabinieri ROS and the Financial Police, which provided the necessary support during the various checks, found 220 kilos of cocaine in March 2023, hidden in a container coming from Ecuador and embarked on a motor vessel flying the Lebanese flag . According to the accusatory hypothesis, shared by the judge for preliminary investigations, the operations would have been coordinated by Franco Volpe ed Cataldo Espositotogether with subjects who are currently untraceable, and would have seen the interest of the Calabrian Avaro family.

The one ton load of marijuana

In particular, part of the narcotic would have been destined for the Calabrians Nicola e Francesco Alvarofinanciers of the importation and buyers of cocaine, represented in the Salerno area, for intermediation operations with Ferrara and the collaborator Salvatore Roccodal calabrese Fortunato Marafioti and from Neapolitan Errico D’Ambrosio, the latter having the role of delegate of the Alvaro family and the “Neapolitan” co-financiers. In the same investigative context, at the end of April 2023, he was intercepted and seized a load of marijuana – weighing over a ton in total – also hidden in a container that left the Canadian port of Montreal and arrived in the port of Salerno through an import-export company Poggiomarino.

According to the accusatory hypothesis, the involvement of Antonio Malafronte Of Boscorealeco-owner of the company interested in importing the cargo as well as the Italian-American Michele Annunziata. The latter would have organized the importation of the drugs, financed in part by the Neapolitan Giuseppe Gargiulo and would therefore have appointed, for financial compensation, Volpe and one of the unavailable subjects for the coordination of the material operations for the recovery of the narcotic. Finally, the investigations revealed the transversal operations of some of the suspects. According to the accusatory hypothesis, in fact, Volpe and one of the unidentified subjects would also have directed the activities aimed at commission of crimes against propertyin particular in the geographical area of ​​Cilento, effectively hit in recent months by crimes of a predatory nature. Volpe, domiciled in that area, would have had the task of identifying the objectives and providing logistical support to a group of runners, coming from Puglia, who, directed by Michele Campanile they would carry out the raids.