[ad_1]
A container with cocaine, international raids and a key witness to the mafia: a trial has started in Düsseldorf against 14 suspected members of the ‘Ndrangheta. It is said that they laundered drug money through ice cream parlors.
By Volkmar Kabisch, Reiko Pinkert, Andreas Spinrath and Benedikt Strunz, NDR / WDR
It all starts with the RRSU2110970 overseas container in the port of Rotterdam – blue surface, standard size. Really discreet. But the drug detection dogs of the Dutch customs officials attacked. Inside the container are not only 19.3 tons of wooden slats from the Caribbean state of Guyana, but also cardboard boxes and travel bags containing more than 80 kilograms of high-purity cocaine.
The recipient of the delivery is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, a discreet import and export company, a fake company, as will be seen later, which was apparently only founded for one purpose: to smuggle cocaine into Europe in the most silent way. possible. At least that’s how the Duisburg prosecutor sees it, taking on the case and subsequent investigations.
Internationally coordinated raids
The finding becomes an important starting point for a complicated international investigation. Three years later, heavily armed police officers approach the small mountain town of San Luca in Calabria, Italy. San Luca is considered the home of the Italian mafia organization ‘Ndrangheta.
The cops arrive before dawn. Because they could be seen from afar and the gangsters send a warning call to all of Europe. It is December 5, 2018 – Operation Joint Action Day “Pollino. “At the same time, special forces are raiding homes, shops and restaurants in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It is the biggest blow to date against organized crime in Europe, according to Europol in a celebratory press release.
84 people were arrested, four tons of cocaine and more than two million euros were seized. One outbreak: North Rhine-Westphalia, where numerous suspects were living or hiding at the time.
Planned process months
The trial against 14 defendants has now begun before the fourth main criminal chamber of the Duisburg Regional Court. For security reasons, it takes place in the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court building. Some are accused of forming and supporting a foreign criminal organization and drug trafficking in a gang, others of commercial money laundering and violations of the gun law.
It is a gigantic process that will last at least until the end of 2021. So far 91 negotiation dates have been scheduled. Reporter from Ed Y WDR They were able to see and evaluate the files of the process in recent months. They paint a picture of the world drug trade and provide an in-depth understanding of the inner workings of the Calabrian mafia. Researchers from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands have written thousands of pages of observation reports, witness interviews, phone call protocols, and interrogations.
The key witness testified extensively
It also contains the story of Giuseppe T. The now 41-year-old Italian was a stroke of luck for investigators because he switched sides in 2015. T. had worked for organized crime for almost half his life. First he sold drugs on the street. At some point he got into the cocaine business, with and on behalf of the ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria, according to the investigation.
It sought out investors, negotiated with cartels, orchestrated the distribution of cocaine across European borders, and laundered drug money. Giuseppe T. is a great catch. Day-long interrogations followed, filling nearly a dozen files. He reported in detail on the mob divers who found hidden caches of cocaine welded to the hulls of the ships or on the extremely high profit margins hiding in the illegal business.
Germany apparently used for money laundering
Germany, the key witness told investigators, would play a key role in the business. Because nowhere is it easier to launder drug money than in this country. To this end, real estate has been bought or rented repeatedly.
In addition, restaurants and ice cream parlors in Germany functioned as a central logistics platform. From here, specially converted cars transport cocaine across Europe. An elaborate mechanism in the dashboard of the car opens a double deck in the trunk, in which the drug packages are hidden. The conversion can be booked at a specialized garage in the Netherlands, says Guiseppe T.
Discovered the “international parallel economy”
The key witness descriptions also provide a glimpse of what the Duisburg Public Prosecutor’s Office calls the “international parallel economy,” a global drug trade in which various gangs and organized criminals secretly cooperate when it comes to common economic interests.
Oliver Huth of the Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter, himself a researcher in this area, describes the difficult investigations as follows: “Hundreds of kilometers are shot down by car so that police authorities do not hear the communication.”
This makes the statements of key witnesses like Giuseppe T. even more important, but it is not indisputable. Last year he was expelled from the Italian witness protection program because, in addition to his statements to the police, he also assaulted several jewelers. The next process will also clarify how credible Guiseppe T.
Lawyer rejects Ndrangheta’s claim
Philipp Thièe defends one of the main Italian defendants in the process. Bonn’s lawyer sees the 649-page indictment and the term mob trial as overstated. Some were charged with individual crimes, as well Thièe.
“I think you can put a question mark behind whether the name ‘Ndrangheta is used not just because they come from a certain region.” Your client has remained silent until now, as have all the accused Italians.
