Wiretaps from a sweeping anti-drug operation in Reggio Calabria, which led to 54 precautionary measures against suspects, revealed disturbing references to fentanyl—a synthetic opioid increasingly prevalent among addicts. “This is deeply alarming,” stated acting Reggio Calabria Prosecutor Giuseppe Lombardo during a press briefing.
From 2021 to 2024, investigations by Carabinieri, police, and financial guards uncovered two distinct criminal syndicates engaged in international drug trafficking. The first group, operating across Reggio Calabria, Villa San Giovanni, San Roberto, Seminara, Gioia Tauro, and Catania, supplied diverse narcotics—including cocaine, crack, hashish, and marijuana—to buyers.
Despite being under house arrest, one ringleader managed supply chains from his residence, funneling drugs into markets in Reggio Calabria and Catania while exploiting minors alongside addicts. The second syndicate imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine through Ecuador, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, leveraging Gioia Tauro’s port as a strategic hub.
Probes further exposed an intricate money-laundering network routing cash proceeds to Rome, where Chinese-origin specialists reintroduced the funds into the economy via targeted transactions. To coordinate activities and evade surveillance, suspects used encrypted platforms like SkyEcc—now commonplace in high-level criminal circles.
Prosecutor Lombardo warned: “Such results demand adequate resources to combat organizations with vast financial means. This crisis warrants alarm: today’s ’ndrangheta relies on 400 families and no fewer than 60,000 affiliates.”