The Foggia State Police, with the collaboration of the Central Operative Service, coordinated by the Bari Anti-Mafia District Attorney, executed a precautionary custody order in prison against five individuals and house arrest against as many individuals, for the crime of criminal association aimed at drug trafficking. The investigation started in the summer 2017 following the very serious blood events that took place between July and August of the same year on the Gargano, or the murder of TROTTA Omar in Vieste and the fourfold murder of ROMITO Mario Luciano, his brother-in-law and two agro farmers of San Marco in Lamis.
The technical activities initiated made it possible to ascertain that a new leader had taken over the reins of the criminal group, initiating a copious traffic of cocaine that involved the squares of Foggia, Manfredonia and Pescara. The man, exploiting his important knowledge, in particular, with a prejudiced man from Foggia (close to the criminal synergy of the Sinesi-Francavilla) and a manfredoniano near the criminal consortium of the "LI BERGOLIS", started a flourishing drug trade aimed at making profits offenses outside the town of Vieste. The development of the investigations made it possible to ascertain that the drug purchased by the group was destined, in addition to the Gargano area, in an attempt to expand and maximize illicit profits, even to the Pescara market. In fact, the territories most involved in the phenomenon of cocaine trafficking turned out to be the municipalities of Foggia, Manfredonia, San Giovanni Rotondo, Troia, Vieste, Pescara, Montesilvano and Francavilla a Mare.
The acquisition of substantial evidence on the subjects belonging to the criminal association in question, was reflected in the arrest in the act of four people and in the seizure of a laboratory for the processing and packaging of cocaine, as well as gr. 300 of hashish. The criminal group also made use of the full collaboration of a woman, who had set up a real logistics base in Pescara, relying on the contribution of two other subjects. A real agreement also emerged for the supply of cocaine to be marketed in the Abruzzo region, between the Foggia and the Manfredonian; among the supporters of the latter one distinguished, for the precious contribution, the brother-in-law, charged in very numerous occasions to be his driver. Today's operation is in continuity with the one called "August of Fire", actually lasted for five months, from June to November 2018, with which the State Police, in three distinct operations, all coordinated by the DDA of Bari, has a total of seventeen criminals arrested for drug trafficking aggravated by the mafia method.