Five arrested in Italy for trafficking Darknet drugs from Spain to the region of Trento

Five arrests were issued on 13th of December 2018 in Trento, Italy, for four Italians and a foreigner caught importing drugs from Spain through the darknet. A total of 30 kg of narcotics have been seized.

Giuseppe Garramone, Quaestor (provincial public security department) of Trento, was one of the leading proponents of the investigative action as part of Operation Darknet.

Italian prosecutors disrupted the network following an airport bust of a certain D. E. (unknown full name) in Frankfurt on 8th of August 2017. The man had 20 grams of cocaine destined for an Italian citizen. More than a year later, on 29th of August 2018, the Italian police raided the house of D.E. The Mobile Squad of Trento found 50 grams of cocaine and about 500 grams of marijuana, a reason for which D. E. (unknown full name) was arrested. It was later discovered that the drugs were paid via bitcoin bought with Poste Pay money.

On the same day, the residence of another suspect, D.L. (unknown full name), was raided. Police found 50 grams of cocaine, 8850 grams of marijuana, and the equivalent sum of 5940 euros in counterfeit banknotes. He was arrested and put in precautionary custody.

The investigation revealed a network behind the drugs that were trafficked from Spain. Thanks to telephone interceptions, on 20th of September 2018, a truck from Spain was stopped with 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of hashish on board and the sum of 3500 euros allocated as payment for work done by one of the affiliates. On this occasion, three people were arrested in the city of Rovereto.

In the following days, the analysis of the seized phones confirmed the business relationship established between Italian citizens with Spanish suppliers.

Prosecutors Marco Gallina and Davide Ognibene obtained precautionary custody for all five of the suspects: three in prison and two at house arrest. Furthermore, three cars and a motorbike were confiscated among other propriety obtained through illicit means.