Rome/Ibiza - In a concerted operation, Italian and Spanish police forces have succeeded in dealing a serious blow to organized crime. On August 15, three Italians who had been wanted for some time were arrested on the Spanish vacation island of Ibiza. They are strongly suspected of belonging to the management level of a Roman clan of the Calabrian mafia organization ‚Ndrangheta, which specializes in international drug trafficking.
The arrests, which were made on the orders of the Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Rome, are the culmination of the "ANEMONE" investigation operation. This had already led to 24 arrests in Italy and Albania in July 2024. The people now arrested in Ibiza are key figures under investigation for forming a criminal organization for the import and trafficking of drugs using mafia methods.
A drug empire controlled from Rome
The criminal organization had established its power base in the Roman district of San Basilio and was led by a 57-year-old Calabrian who was arrested in July. The network controlled the import of cocaine from South America from the capital. The drugs were transported to Europe in containers via ports in Spain, the Netherlands and Gioia Tauro. For logistics and onward transportation, the clan worked closely with an Albanian criminal group, which also handled sales in other parts of Rome.
Brutality and international cooperation
One case of torture documented by the public prosecutor's office is evidence of the group's particular dangerousness. A dealer was brutally abused because he had not paid his „drug debt“. The success of the manhunt was only possible thanks to excellent international coordination, involving not only national police units but also Eurojust and the Interpol project „I CAN“ (Interpol Cooperation Against ‚Ndrangheta). During searches on Ibiza and in Barcelona, around 35,000 euros in cash, forged documents, records of drug transactions and small quantities of cocaine were seized. One of the men, who was also wanted for assault and resisting arrest, resisted arrest and attempted to flee.
