Italy’s carabinieri on Monday announced a major drug bust, with 82 arrest warrants for members of the 'Società foggiana,' the main mafia group in the southern city of Foggia in Puglia.
All the persons names in the warrants are suspected of criminal association for drug trafficking purposes and “other unspecified offences,” according to a carabinieri statement.
The investigation into this mafia group began after the murder in October 2016 of one of the leading members of the criminal organisation. Monday’s operation involved some 500 law enforcement personnel.
The statement did not specify how many of the 82 people targeted by the arrest warrant were possibly already in prison.
Thanks to wiretaps, the carabinieri managed to establish the workings of the group, which sold around 10 kgs of cocaine per month on the Foggia market. They bought the drug at less than €40 a gramme and resold it at €55 to €60 per gramme, with “a monthly profit of at least €200,000,” according to the statement.
“Congratulations to the law enforcement agencies who, with a major operation, have dealt a very hard blow to the Foggia mafia, one of the most dangerous and violent criminal organisations,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said.
The term “Foggia mafia” is a catch-all phrase designating different groups involved in several criminal sectors. Long kept in the shadows, this criminal organisation is currently considered one of the most violent on the Italian peninsula.
