Rome, June 23 (LaPresse) – Sixteen people, including two active police officers in the capital, have been arrested by the finance police of the Rome provincial command, under the direction of the anti-mafia district prosecutor's office. The charges include participation in a criminal organization involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotics, as well as illegal possession of weapons, robbery, receiving stolen goods, and money laundering.
Thirteen individuals were taken to prison, and three were placed under house arrest. The precautionary measure, issued by the investigating judge, follows investigations coordinated by the Rome anti-mafia unit (DDA) and carried out by the GICO specialists of the economic and financial police unit of Rome.
Authorities targeted a criminal group composed mainly of Moroccan nationals, based primarily in the Casal Boccone and Fonte Meravigliosa districts of Rome. According to the finance police, the organization was “engaged in the systematic importation of hashish and marijuana, which was then sold wholesale to various traffickers,” especially in the Castel Romano and Alessandrino neighborhoods. These traffickers then distributed the drugs across multiple dealing hubs — mainly in the Don Bosco, Pigneto, Spinaceto, and Capannelle districts, as well as in the provinces of Rome and Latina.
Thanks to a permanent presence in Spain and Morocco of one of its members, the drug trafficking ring reportedly managed to import over 1.4 tons of narcotics into Italy via cross-border land transport. Among those under investigation but not arrested is a former police officer who previously served for several years at a police station in the capital.
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