The State Police of Salerno and the Central Investigative Unit of the Penitentiary Police Corps, assisted by personnel of the Mobile Teams of Florence, Naples, Cosenza and Rome, with the help of the Crime Prevention Departments, dog units and the air support of a helicopter of the State Police, at dawn today, carried out, in the provinces of Salerno, Naples, Florence and Cosenza, a precautionary custody order, issued by the Judge of Preliminary Investigations of the Court of Salerno, at the compliant request of the District Management Anti-Mafia of Salerno, against 47 suspects, held responsible, in various capacities, of two criminal associations aimed at illicit drug trafficking and extortion.
In the first half of 2019, the investigation activities of the Salerno Mobile Squad with the direction of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Salerno - DDA, had highlighted the existence of illegal introductions within the Salerno Prison of cellular devices as well as than drugs to be marketed within the same prison facility.
These circumstances had found the same correspondence, in the results of another proceeding initiated at the Public Prosecutor's Office of Salerno, whose investigation activities were carried out by the Salerno Mobile Squad with the Penitentiary Police Corps - Central Investigative Unit - Regional Nucleus of Campania.
It emerged that a detainee, the main suspect and the top of the organization, had, in collaboration with his associates, also established within the Salerno Prison, "a marketplace" after introducing drugs and cell phones inside functional to the performance of said activity.
The activity carried out also highlighted the involvement of a Penitentiary Police officer, serving the "detention wards" of the prison, who was involved in the illegal activities described. In particular, for a fee given to him by the head of the organization, through his main "collaborator", the unfaithful agent introduced quantities of drugs into the prison.
At the same time, in the alarming picture of a widespread criminal activity carried out by inmates inside the Salerno prison, relating to the trade in narcotic substances and other prohibited objects, such as cell phones and SIM cards, the existence of a further criminal association operating within the same institution, headed by another prisoner.
The first, during his detention period at the prison in question, continued to issue "directives" to his closest collaborators. In fact, the criminal team directed by him, through the subjects of the closest "trust", has organized two "drug dealing squares" in two distinct areas of the city of Nocera Inferiore, thus proving to be particularly active in the illegal marketing of drugs .
During the whole investigation, numerous episodes of physical violence and attacks on detainees emerged who did not "bow" to the promoters of the huge drug trafficking. The punitive expeditions were such as to cause even serious injuries.
The modus operandi of drug trafficking was articulated with real "dealing squares" within the Salerno prison structure; with subjects assigned to the detention of drugs inside cavities and lockers in the cells, other persons in charge of introducing them into the prison through relatives or similar who came for periodic visits and concealed cell phones and drugs in the private parts and finally a articulated external structure of payments via postepay that were recharged from the outside and were used to pay for the purchase of drugs inside the prison.
The purchase of mobile phones inside the prison had reached the size of a real "market" in fact it was enough to order the brand and model to receive it delivered by visitors and pay for it through bank transfers to the dedicated postepay.
The use of the aforementioned mobile phones took place through sims registered to untraceable and almost always non-EU subjects, and were used both for personal conversations with relatives and / or family members outside the prison and with the supporters used for post-pay top-ups and to issue directives and orders to clan members.
Throughout the investigation phase, with the collaboration of the prison management and the penitentiary police, various investigative findings were carried out within the prison structure. There were numerous seizures of narcotic substances such as cocaine, hashish and cell phones; more than 30 cell phones and about 20 SIM cards and over a kilogram of narcotic substance divided into several dozen doses, including cocaine and hashish, thus managing to stem and block the introduction of both drugs and cell phones into the prison.