The Hague, 12 December 2024
A joint operation in Brazil and Italy has led to the arrest of 23 members of a cocaine trafficking network linked to mafia families in Italy. The three criminal groups running the drug smuggling operation used cargo ships and private aircraft to transport large quantities of cocaine to Europe. Eurojust and Europol supported the investigations and the action day on 10 December.
Following the arrest of two members of an Italian mafia family in Brazil in 2019, investigations were launched into the links between Brazilian and Italian criminal groups. The investigations revealed strong ties between the Italian mafia and Brazilian criminal organisations involved in coordinating cocaine shipments to Europe from the Port of Paranaguá. Throughout the investigations, authorities documented over 1 500 kg cocaine trafficked to Europe.
The international criminal group linked to the ‘Ndrangheta in Piedmont concealed the cocaine shipments in cargo ships destined for various European ports. Drugs were also transported by air in private aircraft. Their activities generated huge profits for the criminal organisation. The multi-million euro profits were laundered through an intricate network of individuals and companies.
Italian and Brazilian authorities worked together on the complex investigation through a joint investigation team (JIT) set up at Eurojust in 2020. The JIT allowed the authorities to exchange information in real time and plan the arrests and searches, which took place simultaneously in Brazil and Italy. Europol supported the investigation by coordinating the exchange of information between EU Member States and Brazil, and providing EU authorities with intelligence packages. These files allowed affected countries to finalise their investigations. Before the action day, Europol welcomed two Brazilian experts to its headquarters in The Hague, who worked hand-in-hand with affected EU Member States.
The four-year investigation culminated in a large-scale operation on 10 December in Italy and Brazil. Italian and Brazilian authorities disrupted the activities of the criminal groups by arresting 23 suspects, 5 in Italy and 18 in Brazil. Searches were carried out at several addresses across Brazil.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Turin – District Antimafia Directorate; Italian National Antimafia Prosecutor’s Office; Carabinieri of the ROS (Special Operational Group) and of the Provincial Command of Turin; Italian Central Anti-Drug Directorate
Brazil: Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office of Brazil; Federal Police of Brazil through the Special Group for Sensitive Investigations of Paraná; Federal Police of the State of Paraíba, Authotities of the States of Curitiba and Joao Pessoa
Source – Eurojust