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The vaccine is there, but now the great mission of Italy is to ensure that all doses destined for our country reach their destination in 300 management points protecting them from the bad guys. The Interpol director raised the alarm about the danger that vaccines could end up in the sights of organized crime robberies. Jürgen Stock. “The vaccine – said the world police chief – is the“ liquid gold ”of 2021, the most precious thing to distribute and the mafia and other criminal organizations are already prepared. We will see robberies in warehouses and attacks on shipments. An alert that closely concerns Italy and especially southern criminal organizations, so the Armed Forces will also go out into the field to monitor vaccines. The drug business has always been one of the balance items, especially of the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta. Until now, clans have focused more attention on the theft and resale of cancer drugs, but the new vaccines against Covid may represent a great opportunity for gangs in a historic period in which the economic crisis, locdkown and the Strict regulations to curb the pandemic have also affected part of its business. It is for these reasons, even before vaccines are distributed in Europe, that a great deal of intelligence has been activated for some time to try to keep the “liquid gold” safe with the collaboration of all the main European police forces. Italy, which is among the countries most affected by the drug theft phenomenon, is already at the forefront with its security departments to make its contribution. Ultimately, it will not only be a logistical or health protection problem to maintain the cold chain necessary to preserve and store vaccines, but also a very delicate job by military security to ensure that all Italians who wish to be vaccinated.
Who first asked attention to the need to ensure vaccines was the president of Assoram, Pierluigi petrone, since last October. “The theft and counterfeiting phenomena – said the president of the National Association of Logistics and Commercial Operators of Primary Pharmaceutical Distribution – already have a strong impact on the pharmaceutical distribution chain. The transport of medicines, which is carried out almost exclusively by road, and hospitals are more targets of organized crime ”. Next, Petrone sent a letter to all the institutional actors involved in the distribution of vaccines, finding immediate listening to the Emergency Commissioner, Domenico Arcuri. “The commissioner – explains the president of Assoram – has well understood our role and the strategic nature of our sector on how we are going to be able to ensure that these very delicate phases for the life of our country can develop without problems.”
In the first phase in which the vaccines available are only those of the American Pfizer, the American company will take the doses directly to the administration points, also taking care of the task of safeguarding the cold chain. Obviously, as of the so-called “Vaccine Day” on December 27, all movements will also be supervised by the armed forces. «The plan prepared with urgency – explained the general Luciano Portolano, head of the Center for Joint Defense Operations, during the traditional Christmas meeting between President Mattarella and the Armed Forces – predicts that the Pfizer vaccine that will arrive in Italy on December 24 will be stored in a first phase in the central hub of Spallanzani in Rome and for Defense will be distributed and administered in 21 national sites ». For now, these are only a few doses, the more complex it will be to ensure logistical security when other vaccines such as Astrazeneca are also available. To ensure that everything happens safely, the plan of the Ministry of Defense, at the forefront to support Arcuri, foresees that the doses arrive directly at the large military hangar of Pratica di Mare, then the monitoring of the doses for their transport and storage in the rest of Italy. Already today the Ministry of Lorenzo Guerini will announce the means, men and methods with which the Defense will support the Italian vaccination plan.
The phenomenon of drug trafficking by organized crime has been known for a long time. According to some investigations by the Naples prosecutor’s office, the members of the Contini and Licciardi clan of the Neapolitan Camorra have long thrown themselves into the big business of anti-tumor drugs, but the ‘Ndrangheta clans are also very active, who have the advantage power its ramifications throughout the world. Vaccines, according to recent intelligence analysis, could be a market that attracts clans. Stealing a shipment of vaccine doses and reselling it to wealthy enclaves in some African countries could be a million dollar business. Already in the pre-Covid era there were at least 100 drug thefts every year in Italy with an estimated turnover of 20 million a year. In Campania alone, at least 5 million euros of drug thefts occur every year, but the phenomenon affects the entire south.. In general, trucks carrying drugs, but especially pharmacies and hospital warehouses, are often attacked. Specialized police and carabinieri units report that at least one in ten hospitals suffers drug theft. The 2014 Volcano investigation broke Pandora’s box on the clan’s interest in the drug business, but this illegal trade has continued to grow over time. This is why the government – with the attention of the Ministry of the Interior and the Armed Forces – is trying to prepare security plans not only for transportation, but also to protect the warehouses and administration points that will be organized for vaccines. If the Pratica di Mare hangar guarantees maximum surveillance, the same must be done for all other points of the Italian territory where the doses will arrive.
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